Maruti beats Suzuki in output

riding on healthy growth in the Indian market , Maruti Suzuki has beaten japanese parent Suzuki in annual vehicle production in 2009.
according to 2009 production numberts maruti manufactured a total of 966,399 units, while Suzuki- that holds a 54% stake in the indian car major- produced 908,302 vehicles. Maruti's total sales in 2009-967581 units-were also higher than Suzuki's production numbers.
"this is a clear reflection of the rapidly-changing dynamics of the global auto industry. while many of the erstwhile developed markets, including japan are shrinking in the aftermath of the global economic recession, it is markets like India, and China that are growing and setting new records" an automobile industry analyst said. while the japanese market shrunk 10% last year, the indain market had a growth of about 19%.

AI-IA demerger on card..............

if you can't fix it, merge it.and if you still cant fix it. this seems to be the govt prescription for Air India and Indian Airlines, which were merged in aug 2007 despite widespread criticism.
intrestingly, the merger has actually not moved much beyond a common billiboard and a holding company.
with a rehab plan for Air India proving to be a fraught task, a proposal to undo the decision to forge Air India and Indian Airlines into a single entity has been mooted by the finance ministry.
The ministry which has to foot the bill for any revival package, is understood to be increasingly nervous over the viablity of bailout plans for the floundering carrier.
The salary and the promotional structures of the two airline remains different and the reconciling these has not proved easy. they continue to use different codes for flights and there is no synergy in terms of sharing aircraft and rationalising routes.

POSCO project may take off in 5 months

the much delayed South Korean major Posco's rs 54000 crore steel project in orissa could get off the ground in the next four five months with land acquisition and all regulatory approvals in place by then, steel minister Virbhadra Singh said on monday.
"we are in constant touch with the orissa govt. Prime minister also intervened. we will see that the things get expediated as the project is of great national importance," mr singh told reporters after an eight member posco team headed by the company's chairman and global head Joon-Yang Chung called on him.

Toyota seen losing top slot to VW

Japan's Toyota Motor Corp said on monday its global vehicle sales fell 13% IN 2009 TO ABOUT 7.81 MILLION VEHICLES, REDUCING ITS LEAD OVER gERMANY'S Volkswagen, which enjoyed a record year. it was adramatic turnaround from 2008, when toyota ended the 77 year reign of Us giant General Motors as the worlds top selling automaker with sales of 8.97 million vehicles, including subsidiaries Hino and Daihatsu. Now volkswagen, Europe's biggest carmaker, aims to overtake Toyota by 2018 as the global number one.
VW has reported 2009 sales of 6.29 million vehicles, up 1.1% from the previous year. last month it said it would buy 19.95 of Japan's Suzuki for more than $2.5 billion, boosting its global expansion.
Toyota- the maker of corolla, lexus and prius vehicles-was batterd by the global economic crisis and fell into the red for the first time in the year to march 2009 . it has slashed thousands of jobs.
More recently, Toyota's reputation for top notch safety has been hit by a series of recalls affecting millions of vehicle in the US and tens of thousands of cars in China.

The icons of India blazing in the yr 2009, ..succeeded in steadying their ships during the financial storm

Chandra Kochhar, CEO,ICICI bank
for KOcchar , the elevation to the top at the banks was almost like baptism by fire. As she took over the wheels, colleagues and trusted aides quit in a huff leaving her with very few hands on the deck. Thankfully, her rise to top coincided with the global credit crunch showing signs of abating. to her credit, she has been able to staedy the ship the ship, but now she has to chart a new growth path.

Keki Mistry,CEO , HDFC Ltd
taking the hot seat vacated by none other than Deepak Parekh is no mean job. from today, Mistry is about to do exactly that.Add to in the fact for HDFC, India's home finance pioneer, competition is growing at every corner. while intrest rates are showing no signs of stabilising, the real estate sector is still on shaky grounds.

Nandan Nilekani,chairman ,UIDAI
An enormous amount of expectation and hope is riding on Nilekani's new project tp issue an unique indetification number for every indian, the man, who together with N R Narayana Murthy, was instrumenatal in building Infosys into the powerhouse it is today, has quite a different task in this new role with the govt. but those who have worked with him closely say his ability to carry people with him closely say his ability to visyualise solutions to complex issues, his ability to carry people with him and his experiance with project implementation will enable him to meet the country's expectations.

A Vellayan, executive chairma,The Murugappa group
Representing the 4th generation of promoters, vellayan has a huge challange up his sleeve. An ace in meticulous planning, he has an advantage as he took the call to expand the agri-buisness, which has become a key driver for the group. Now, vellayan has to find other growth engines and also groom the next generation of family members into the buisness.

Shikha Sharma, CEO, Axis Bank
Sharma's exit from ICICI bank and entry into Axis bank, both were on a not- so- sweet note. going forward, the competition and the comparision between the two banks will get more intense and more intresting. Now Sharma has to prove her mettle without the guidance of K V Kamath and move Axis into another orbit which was known as an institution built by P J Nayak.

Gautam Banerjee, chairman, pricewaterhousecopers
Gautma Banerjee's position is quite unenviable. on the one hand, the professional services firm got entangled in the Satyam Scam, aand on the other hand, it is faced with exits of key parteners like Dinesh Kanabar.Banerjee, who has just about taken over as chairman of the firm, will have to use all his skills to not only keep the flock together, but also refurbish PwC's image to regain its glory

N Chandrasekaran, CEO, TCS
P M Telang, CEO, Tata Motors
H M Nerurkar, CEO, Tata Steel
They are the old hands at Tata Motors, Tata Steel and Tata Consultancy services. having been with the companies for the best part of their working life, they know their industry like the back of their hand. Praksah telang, 61, and H M Nerurkar, ^! and N chandrsekaran 46, are the new face of Tata group's automobile, steel and software companies rfespectively. the three companies contribute over 70% to the Tata group's revenues. all three leaders face their own set of challanges- tackling global economic feature prominently among them.

Mkts sign off year on new high

If 2008 was the yr of surprise and heart breaks for investors on dalal street, 2009 would go down as the yr that witnessed the wildest swing in the fortune of those who deal in stocks and shares.The proof is in numbers: From a low at 8,100 in early march, the BSE sensex- the street's most loved barometer- is now within touching distance of 17,500.
A major part of this turnaround came on the back of foreign funds who pumped in nearly $17.5 billion into india, and domestic institution mainly the insurance firms, too contributed handsomely, pumping in rs 26,200 cr.
the extreme pessimism at the beginning of the yr made way for rising hopesd in may as soon as Manmohan Singh was handed a stronger mandate than anybody evar imagined by the indian electorate.For the first time ever, stock market were closed for the day after just two minutes of trading as sensex hit the second upper circuit to end the day with a gain of 2,100 points.
Since the new govt came into power sensex has gained 22% to 17,465 now. with a 81% gain in 2009, veterans feel that 2010 could be agood yr, but repeating the yr just went by may not be possible.

Isaraeli drug firm Taro shareholders reject re-election of board

In a major boost to India's sun pharma , which is locked in a takeover battle with Taro, sahreholders of the isaraeli drug firm rejected a proposal to reelect directors.
the shareholders have turned down an indemnification proposal by the Taro board, Sun pharma said. Sun Pharma is the single largest shareholders in Taro with 36% stake and has been trying to take control of the firm ever since their $454 million deal was unilaterally terminated by the Israeli firm.
shareholders voted decisively against the election of Taro's external director nominees," said Sun Pharma.Taro shareholders holding over two thirds of equity want to remove the Levitts(promoter family) and their associates from the board, it said.
on the development, Sun Pharma CMD Dilip Shanghvi said," with such an unambiguous rejection by minority shareholders, the Levitts and Taro directors now have lost this only crutch."

Emani eyes rs 5k cr revenue by march 2015

Emani group on thrusday said it is targetting a five fold rise in turnover to rs 5000cr by march 2015 and added it would ensure that its holding in zandu realty did not dip below 51%.
The kolkata based FMCG enterprise-which hopes to end 2009-10 with a revenue of Rs 1000cr- said it was more eyeing buyouts in the paper and pulps arena and mulling the possibility of a real estate venture on a 2.3 acre plot in Dader(Mumbai) belonging to Zandu realty, in which it has offloaded over 19% of its holding.

"all is not well " for the agri sector,... its negative growth coming in the way of India GDP

Indian fianance minister, Pranab Mukherjee on thrusday sounded with note of concern on the agriculture sector coming in the way of India' GDP surging 7.5% in the current fiscal by pointing out that the agri sector is likely to witness negative growth in 3rd quarter of 2009-10.
"agriculture is a doubtful area. For the country to achieve 9-10% growth, agri has to grow at least by 4%. while agriculture grew by 2.5% in the first quarter and by less than 1% in the second , it is likely to be negative in the third quarter of this fiscal," Mukherjee said at a meeting organised by Indo-American chamber of commerce in kolkata during the day.
However, the FM- who asserted that he was still hopeful of ending the yr with 7.5% growth - didn't elaborate on the possible dip in growth in the agriculture arena during oct-dec09. the govt was examing ways to arrest the slide in agriculture, he added.

export sector turns positive after 13 months

The new yr began on a cheerful note for India's exporting sector, as consignments turned positive after 13 months, growing by 18.2% in nov.
Exports in nov 2009 increased to $13.9 billion from $11.6 billion a year ago marking a trend reversal of decline that had set in since oct 2008 due to widespread recession. imports remained in the negative zone declining by 2.6% to $22.88 billion, leading to a lower trade gap of $9.69 billion during the month against $12.32 billion in nov2008.
however, the import contraction in nov was much lower than 15% in oct, signifying pick up in the economic activity. for the pril-nov, exports dropped by 22.3%, much lower than 26% gap up to oct this fiscal.
while exports have turned positive doe to low base of last yr, experts cautioned against complacency.

New yr bonaza for IPO scam hit investors

if you had applied in 21 IPOs That opened between 2003 and 2005, and were not allotted even a single share, you could be in line for some windfall gains. A sebi committee that was set up to suggest ways to compensate these investors who were affected by the IPO scam which was first detected in dec 2005, said that money recovered from the scamsters should be distributed among the affected IPO applicants.
the committee, headed by retired supreme court judge D P Wadhwa, also suggested ways to recover the gains from scamsters and distribute the same among those affected by the scam. the report said that the scamsters gained rs95.7cr by rigging the IPOs. as on oct 31, 2007, the value of frozen shares of these scamsters in the depositories worked out to Rs 147.85 cr and the balance in their bank accounts frozen by CBi was at rs 1.2 cr.

Ranbaxy exist Chinese Jv

Ranbaxy laboratories on tuesday said it has sold its entire stake in Chinesejoint venture Ranbaxy Ghuangzhou pharmacy co Ltd for an undisclosed amount.
Ranbaxy Ghuangzhou China(RGCL) is a joint venture formed in 1993 between the ranbaxy group, Guangzhou baiyunshan pharmaceutical company ltd, China and Hongkong new Chemic. This transaction will help Ranbaxy in cosolidating the overall global manufacturing operations by bringing synergies and in reducing complexities in production, a spokesperson of gurgaon based company told.

Infosys plans to set up 2nd Orissa facility

IT major Inofosys Technologies has decided to set up its second project in Orissa at an investment of Rs 300 cr, official said.
Infosys's plan for the state was announced by its director of human resource, T V Mohandas Pai, after a meeting with the chief minister Naveen Patnaik in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday.
while as many as 3,000 IT professionals were now busy working at the first infosys project in the state, he said about 5000 workers would get placement in its second project.The second project would come up at IT valley on the side of the National Highway no-5 between the state capital and Khurda town

jindal power files IPO prospectus to raise rs 7k cr

Navin jindal led Jindal power on tuesday said it has filed draftprospectus with market regulator SEBI to raise Rs7,200 cr through its maidan public issue.
Jindal power has filed a draft red herring prospectus (DHRP)with the securities and exchange board of India (SEBI), on tuesday" JPL said in a statement.
jindal power, which has sedt up the country's first mega power project- the 1000 MW O P Jindal Super Thermal power plant at Raigarh in chattisgarh, is a subsidary of Jindal Steel and Power Ltd(JSPL). the company would utilise the issue proceeds to part finance the construction and development of various thermal projects, besidesfor general corporate purpose. the equity shares pf the company are proposed to be listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Exchange of India.

No rate hike in 6 months:SBi

India inc can rejoice .State bank of India chairman O P Bhatt on tuesday indicated that there will be no increasein intrest rates for next six months despite inflationary pressure.
As inflation is rising, the speculation is rife that RBI might take measures to tighten the money supply, leading top hardening of interest rates, in its review of monetary policy in january. As the global economy is still in the grip of recession, industry captains feel that any hike in intrest rates will affect the economic recovery in india.
Bhatt said there was surplus liquidity in the system and credit offtake was slowly picking up.This situation of liquidity surplus will force banks not to increase interest rates.Because of this surplus liquidity, banks have cut deposits rates.But they are not cutting the lending rates due to slow credit offtake, despite the speculation that RBI can increase key rates(repo or reverse repo)to contain inflation.

IBM signs 10 yr deal with Gujrat CO-OP Bank

Global IT major IBM on monday said it signed a 10 yr aggrement for providing managed IT services with Gujrat -based sardar bhiladwala pardi people co-operative bank.
under the agreement,IBM will provide managed services like servers network security back-up and database management to the bank, IBM said in a statement.
The engagement a complete expenditure in pay as you go model, would enable the bank to save up to 50% in it infrastructure epenses, it added.

govt to divest 8.38% in NMDC by this fiscal

The govt will sell its 8.38% stake in NMDC by march 31, 2010, the navratna mineral company said on tuesday. the govt of India has desiredx to complete the process of disinvestment of 8.38% of paid up equity in NMDC Ltd out of govt's shareholding through further public offer in the domestic market during the current fiscal year, the company said in a filing to the bombay stock exchange. As part of disinvestment programme the govt is proposing to offload 8.38% of its stake in NMDC through a follow-on public offer(FPO).

Genpact to handle Max New York Life customer care

Max New york life insurance , a joint venture between Analjit Singh promoted Max India Ltd and US based New York Life international, is outsourcing customer service work to BPO firm Genpact, as part of international restructuring exercise. the move is aimed at consolidating operations and synergising efficiencies within the organisation. It will be a three yr contract and the private life insurer is looking to transfer 100 people to Genpact for the purpose.

Inox group acquires US c0

the rs 2500 crore Inox group's venture Inox India has acquired US-based Crygenic Vessel Alternatives (CVA), the world largest cryogenic transportaion equipment maker. the group announced the acquisition on monday, without divulging the deal value.

one liners

1)LG Electronics India on monday announced top level management changes with election of Y V Verma to the position of chief operating officer(COO)
2) At least 2 research students have been reported dead in a fire that broke out in a part of a laboratory in BARC complex at suburban trombay.
3) Government move triggers fear of president's rule in Andhra.
4) Reliance making super profit of rs 20K cr from KG gas : RNRL
5) Nitish cabinet nod for revised payscales to state employees
6) Sponsors of Golf superstar Tiger Woods have lost around $5-12 billion since reports of his extramartial affairs broke out, a new survey has said.