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The government-nominated board of directors of Maytas Infra met today to consider a buyout proposal for the company. The company has said that it has received a proposal to substitute the existing promoters, the Ramalinga Raju family, and take over management control. The board has forwarded this proposal to the Company Law Board for appropriate directions.
Power plant suppliers in India and abroad will soon be submitting bids for a massive power plant order. The government’s Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure has approved bulk ordering for 4 large power projects. These power plants will be built using supercritical technology. The government announced this in a statement released yesterday.
Oil major BP handed out a major IT outsourcing contract to five global IT companies. The deal has been awaited for long and comes at a time when deal flow has slowed down for the software sector. While the deal value was not disclosed by the companies who got the award, this story by Mint has quoted a BP spokesperson attributing the deal value at $1.5bn. BP will save about $500mn by reducing its number of vendors to 5, says the report.
Continue ReadingFinance Minister Pranab Mukherjee stuck to his promise made in his Budget speech and has put the draft Direct Tax Code in the public domain. The government is asking for comments, before it is introduced in parliament. Over the years, the Income Tax Act, 1961, has been supplemented by several amendments, interpretations and rules.
Continue ReadingIndustrial output for June 2009 is a bright spot amidst the gloom, caused by a near certain drought and a swine flu outbreak in the country. The index of industrial production (IIP) for June 2009 has increased by 7.8% over the same period last year. There was a partial base effect, as mining grew by 15% compared to a 0.1% growth in June 2008 and electricity grew by 8% compared to 2.6%.
Short term borrowings are a part of any company’s life. These are needed to tide over temporary cash shortages or even to meet normal working capital needs. Since the needs are temporary, companies do not mind paying a slightly higher rate of interest. But when governments start dipping into the till to meet short term requirements, the consequences can be interesting, if not disruptive.
Sebi has issued a new circular to all mutual funds, barely a week after its rule banning entry loads came into effect. The capital market regulator has told mutual funds to charge exit loads uniformly to all investors. The move plugs any possibility of mutual funds compensating for the lack of entry loads by recovering expenses from retail investors, when they exit a scheme.
The celebrations will have to wait longer for what has been touted as a major south-south corporate alliance. Bharti Airtel and
Debt-laden pharmaceutical company Wockhardt continued its asset selling spree, handing over its nutritional foods business to Abbott. The US pharmaceutical company will pay $130mn or Rs 627 crore, for the business which will be distributed between Wockhardt, Carol Info Services, some subsidiaries of Wockhardt and associate companies.
Continue ReadingTrent’s sales in the June 2009 quarter fell by 8% over the previous corresponding period to Rs 119 crore (standalone results). The apparel retailer, promoted by the Tata group, had hived off its hypermarket business to a subsidiary effective August 1, 2008. The loss of revenue in its standalone results hit overall growth. The company runs stores under the Westside, Sisley and Fashion Yatra and also owns the Star India Bazaar stores, which are now run by a subsidiary.
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