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Global restructuring by multinationals can often result in surprises for shareholders of their Indian subsidiaries of multinational corporations. Engineering company Alstom Projects India announced that its parent company Alstom is forming an equal joint venture with China’s Shanghai Electric Group, to be called Alstom-Shanghai Electric Boilers Co.
Continue ReadingSatyam Computer Services and the US Securities and Exchange Commission have decided to settle a civil litigation, pertaining to a massive fraud perpetrated by its promoters. Mahindra Satyam, the brand name by which the company now calls itself, will pay $10 million or Rs 45 crore to the SEC.
Omega TC Holdings Pte Ltd, a Singapore-based company, plans to acquire a minority stake in Roots Corporation, a 100% subsidiary of Indian Hotels Company. Indian Hotels is India’s most well known hotel brand, with its flagship Taj group of hotels and also runs hotel chains under other brands –Gateway and Vivanta- to name a few. About 7 years ago, it had started a budget hotel chain under the Ginger brand, which is run by Roots Corporation.
Continue ReadingUnited Phosphorus, an agrochemical company with a turnover of over Rs 5,000 crore in 2009-10, said it is acquiring a 50% stake in Sipcam Isagro Brazil, a Brazilian agrochemical company. Sipcam is an equal joint venture between the Sipcam-Oxon group and Isagro.
Continue ReadingStrides Arcolab has announced that Onco Therapies Ltd has got European Union approval for the marketing of carboplatin. This product is the first of the 37 products to be marketed by Pfizer Inc, as part of a strategic tie-up with Strides. Under this tie-up, Strides is to license and supply off-patent cancer drugs to Pfizer, for marketing in developed markets.
Continue ReadingThe Special Economic Zone tax bonanza will end, if the Budget proposals pass in their current form. Barring this, the Budget does not have any nasty surprises for companies.
Highlights:
The corporate surcharge has been lowered from 7.5% to 5%. That reduces the effective corporate tax rate from 33.2% to 32.4%, which is a nice, even if small, relief for Indian companies. The new rate will be 30% plus a 5% surcharge, which works out to 31.5%, and after adding the education cess of 3%, it works out to 32.4%.
The government did not disappoint on expectations that it would increase the tax exemption limit for individuals. But it did nothing very dramatic on this front.
Continue ReadingIt was a foregone conclusion that the railway minister Mamata Banerjee would keep fares unchanged in the current railway budget. Even if it was needed to get the railway’s finances back on track.
The railway minister is seeking to cultivate a people-friendly image, the outcome of which is a zero-fare hike policy. With elections due in her home state of West Bengal, despite the railway’s flagging financials, there was no way she would want to hike fares.
Continue ReadingReliance Industries parted with a substantial stake in its oil & gas exploration and production business to BP, in return for cash and technology to develop this business. They will also set up a joint venture for sourcing and marketing gas in the country.
Satyam Computer Services (rebranded as Mahindra Satyam) reported a 3% growth in operating income to Rs 1,279 crore, over the preceding quarter. All comparisons are for its consolidated results and on a sequential basis.
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