The market may edge lower in early trade on weak Asian stocks. Domestic bourses had hit their record closing highs on Friday, 7 March 2014. Trading of CNX Nifty futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could fall 31 points at the opening bell. Asian stocks edged lower on Monday as weaker-than-estimated Chinese trade and inflation data stoked concern over the outlook for the world's second-largest economy.
Tata Power Company said that the Committee for Rights Issue, at its meeting held on 8 March 2014 has decided to issue 33.22 crore shares on rights basis at Rs 60 per share, which is proposed to open on or prior to 31 March 2014. Rights entitlement ratio is 7:50, i.e. an eligible shareholder will be entitled to apply for 7 rights shares for every 50 shares held.
The entire rights issue price, that is Rs 60, shall be payable on application, of which Rs 1 shall be applied towards the face value of each share and Rs 59 shall be applied towards the share premium.
The issue opening date for the rights issue shall be no later than 31 March 2014. The issue shall remain open for a minimum period of 15 days; provided that the Committee for Rights Issue in consultation with the Lead Managers may extend the period of the issue for such further period as may be deemed fit, subject however that in no event would the issue remain open for a period exceeding 30 days.
Shares of natural gas production companies Reliance Industries and ONGC will be in focus after Aam Admi Party (AAP) leader and activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan sought the Supreme Court's urgent intervention to stop the increase in natural gas prices, saying that the new rates would enrich Reliance Industries (RIL) and hurt the people of the country, on whose behalf the state is a trustee of natural resources, as ruled earlier by the top judicial authority. Bhushan, representing NGO Common Cause, said the government's decision should be stayed at least for a few months so that the new regime after the elections, which will bear the consequences of higher gas prices, can look at the matter afresh. Bhushan had earlier filed a petition challenging higher gas rates. It was listed for 4 March 2014 but it could not be taken up.
The NGO said RIL had written to the directorate general of hydrocarbons on 22 May 2009 giving its cost calculations which show that the cost of production is less than $1 per mmbtu. It had also offered natural gas to NTPC and the Anil Ambani group for $2.34 per unit for 17 years. "Evidently, the demand for an increase in gas price was motivated by RIL's greed and not by any considerations," the NGO said. The government and the oil industry have argued that no company would explore India's deep-water regions if they are not allowed market-linked prices. This would only encourage the import of LNG that costs double the new domestic price, they say.
RIL, its partner BP that holds 30% in Reliance-operated blocks, and ONGC have argued that many fields will be unviable at the current price. RIL has argued in its affidavit that since it produces only 15% of the country's gas, it cannot be said to be the major beneficiary of the price increase. RIL says gas output fell because of geological reasons and has initiated arbitration against the government's decision to penalise the company for the fall in output. RIL and BP say that initial estimates of output are not binding commitments and the actual production has turned out to be different in many fields across the world.
Reliance Industries said after market hours on Friday, 7 March 2014, it is planning to shut down one of its four crude distillation units, for Maintenance & Inspection (M&I) activities from 20th March 2014 for about 3.5 weeks. As a normal practice, opportunity would be utilized to carry out necessary modifications to improve the reliability and performance of the unit.
This planned shutdown period will also be utilized for catalyst replacement of VGO and Naphtha hydrotreater. The rest of the Refinery will continue at normal levels of operations.
Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) after market hours on Friday, 7 March 2014 said that the High Court of Judicature at Bombay on 7 March 2014 has approved a Scheme of Arrangement between Mahindra Trucks and Buses (MTBL), a wholly owned subsidiary of the company and its shareholders and creditors and M&M [the Scheme] which, inter alia, envisages demerger of the Trucks Undertaking of MTBL and transfer and vesting thereof into the company and other consequential matters under the provisions of Sections 391 to 394 read with Sections 78 and 100 to 104 of the Companies Act, 1956. The certified copy of this Order is yet to be received, M&M said.
Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) after market hours on Friday, 7 March 2014 said that the company through its wholly owned affiliate IndOil Montney, Canada have signed transaction agreements with Progress Energy Canada, PETRONAS Carigali Canada BV (PCC BV) wholly owned affiliates of Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS) for the acquisition of a 10% interest in Progress Energy Canada's LNG-destined natural gas reserves in northeast British Columbia and in the proposed Pacific Northwest LNG (PNW LNG) export facility on Canada's West Coast. As part of the transaction, IOCL shall also offtake 1.2 million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per annum, which represents 10% of the LNG facility's production, for a minimum period of 20 years. JAPEX Montney with 10% and Petroleum BRUNEI with 3% are the other partners who acquired their interest in the project in 2013. PETRONAS will hold the remaining 77% of the integrated project, IOCL said.
IOCL said that the project holds 2P reserves at year end 2013 of 8.35 Tcfe and best case contingent resources of 24.7 Tcfe. The total reserves and resource potential is in excess of 50 Tcfe in which, IOCL share will be over 5 Tcfe, the company said. Progress Energy Canada is currently producing approximately 400 million cubic feet equivalent of natural gas per day in North East British Colombia which is currently supplying the Canadian market, IOCL said.
Pacific NorthWest LNG is working towards a world-scale LNG export facility on Canada's West Coast at Lelu Island near Prince Rupert, British Columbia. The proposed facility would liquefy and export natural gas produced by Progress Energy Canada and partners in northeastern British Columbia, IOCL said.
IOCL said that the acquisition of this interest in PNW LNG integrated project gives IOCL the opportunity to be part of a world class large-scale resource play and greenfield LNG development in a stable Canadian regime, providing IOCL access to significant upstream gas resources and securing LNG volumes for the domestic market.
Tech Mahindra on Friday, 7 March 2014 announced partnership to help develop the spring customer care update of Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Tech Mahindra's expert engineers helped Microsoft to develop key features which include - Mobile device support, cross browser support and enhanced user experience. The announcement was made after market hours on Friday, 7 March 2014.
Tech Mahindra is a Global SI and Consulting organization with strategic partnership with Microsoft. This collaboration with Microsoft Dynamics Product Development team leverages the company's experience and Microsoft's product strengths to offer significant value to customers. Tech Mahindra was a Microsoft partner on Polaris and Orion as well, the last two product releases of Dynamics CRM.
"Tech Mahindra has contributed to the spring customer care update release of Dynamics CRM. Tech Mahindra's practice capabilities will enable its customers to experience cutting edge solutions on Dynamics CRM for competitive advantage," said Jujhar Singh, General Manager, MS CRM Program Management.
"It is a proud moment for us to partner with Microsoft. Our large global expert base enabling build, deploy and automate coupled with Microsoft's global exposure on products helped us come up with a cutting edge version of Dynamics CRM." said Venkat Paturi, Head - Technology, Media and Entertainment, Tech Mahindra.
This partnership with Microsoft and hands-on experience on MS CRM product enables Tech Mahindra to provide its Global customers with best of solution and implementation experiences to compete successfully in the marketplace, the company said. With the ever increasing form factors and trend towards BYOD, the key features co-developed by Tech Mahindra and Microsoft will ensure CRM Dynamics is equipped with rich user interface and enhanced user experience. Tech Mahindra and Microsoft announced the new version of the product at Microsoft Dynamics Convergence 2014 in Atlanta, it added.
Financial Technologies (India) (FTIL) after market hours on Friday, 7 March 2014 said it has appointed JM Financial Institutional Securities (JM Financial) as its financial advisor for divestment of stake held in Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX). FTIL currently holds 26% stake in MCX.
It may be recalled that the Board of Directors of FTIL had on 27 February 2014 announced the constitution of a committee (Committee) to propose and oversee a restructuring plan for the company. The restructuring plan included FTIL divesting up to 24% in MCX.
Speaking on the development, Mr. Venkat Chary, Non-Executive Independent Director of FTIL and Chairman of the Committee, said, "FTIL has built MCX over the last 10 years as one of India's top market infrastructure institutions in the commodity derivative space. MCX has remained India's No 1 commodity futures exchange over the years and even reached the rank of World No 3. I am confident that given JM Financial's track record and experience as one of India's leading financial advisors, it would help us bring in the best investors who will drive MCX to an era of renewed growth and development."
The Reserve Bank of India on Friday, 7 March 2014 notified that Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs), through primary market and stock exchanges, can now purchase up to 49% of the paid up capital of Manappuram Finance under the Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS). Manappuram Finance has passed resolutions at the board of directors' level and a special resolution by the shareholders, agreeing to enhance the limit for the purchase of its equity shares and convertible debentures by Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs). The Reserve Bank has notified this under FEMA 1999, regarding raising of aggregate ceiling for investments by FIIs in Indian companies under Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS).
Merck turns ex-dividend today, 10 March 2014, for dividend of Rs 8.50 per share for the year ended 31 December 2013.
Infotech Enterprises (lnfotech) after market hours on Friday, 7 March 2014 said that its wholly owned subsidiary, Infotech Enterprises America, Inc. has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Softential, Inc. (Softential) headquartered in Herndon, Virginia.
Infotech said that Softential, Inc. has over a decade's experience and an impressive track record around Service Management and Service Assurance solutions for telecommunications and cable operators, enterprise customers and the public sector. Blending strong domain expertise related to networks and operations with a global service delivery model, Softential designs, implements and manages systems and applications that allow customers to reliably monitor and control the performance of their communication networks and business services in real time. The acquisition strengthens Infotech's telecommunications business unit by adding 140 skilled global resources, the company said in a statement.
By leveraging their combined and complementary strengths, Infotech and Softential will offer a scaled, cost-effective and globally delivered managed service proposition for customers to more efficiently plan, build and operate their Network Operations Centres and Data Centres, Infotech said. The resulting synergies will enable Infotech to broaden its service portfolio for existing customers while supporting expansion into new geographic markets, Infotech said in a statement.
Commenting on the acquisition, Mr. John Renard, President and Business Unit Head, Telecom and Utilities, Infotech Enterprises said, "Softential is a great business and I am delighted that we will be able to work closely with Srini Tipirneni and his team. With its strong technical and domain expertise combined with proven global delivery capability, Softential will fit very well in the lnfotech family. I strongly believe that the combined entity will be very attractive to both companies' existing customers."
Mr. Srinivas Tipirneni, President Softential, Inc. said, "We are excited to become part of the Infotech family. Over the years Softential has built an impeccable record of service delivery, a long term client base and a differentiated offering. This alliance creates a scalable platform for enhancing strategic value and provides an opportunity for cross-pollinating offerings across the combined customer base. In Infotech, Softential has found a partner that is strategically aligned to its business and whose global presence and financial strength will be of immense value. My team looks forward to working with our new colleagues and jointly realising our shared growth ambition."
Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company BSE after market hours on Friday, 7 March 2014 said that a meeting of the Board of Directors of the company will be held on 28 March 2014, inter alia, to consider the Business plan of the company for the financial year ending 31 March 2015.
Assam Company India after market hours on Friday, 7 March 2014 said that the Board of Directors of the company at its meeting held on 26 February 2014, has decided that no dividend will be declared on equity shares in the forth coming Annual General Meeting of the company to be held on 27 June 2014, in respect of the financial year ended on 31 December 2013.
Vascon Engineers after market hours on Friday, 7 March 2014 said it has secured two new projects aggregating about Rs 245 crore. One project of worth about Rs 130 crore is from UP Housing and Development Board, Lucknow for construction of multistoried flats at Lucknow. Another contract worth about Rs 115 crore is from Sheth Creators for construction of residential building at Mumbai.
Havells India said after market hours on Friday, 7 March 2014 that a meeting of the board of directors of the company will be held on 14 March 2014, to consider the agenda item for payment of interim dividend to the shareholders of the company for the year ending 31 March 2014. Havells India has fixed 20 March 2014 as the record date for the purpose of determining the entitlement of the shareholders for the interim dividend, if any.
Sundaram Clayton said after market hours on Friday, 7 March 2014 that a meeting of the board of directors of the company will be held on 18 March 2014, to consider declaration of second interim dividend to the shareholders of the company for the year ending 31 March 2014. Sundaram Clayton said that the record date for the purpose of payment of second interim dividend will be 25 March 2014.
Shares of hospitality firms and travel/tour operators will be in focus after the latest data released by the Ministry of Tourism showed that foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) in India rose 7.2% at 7.38 lakh in February 2014 over February 2013. FTAs rose 5.1% year-on-year at 14.58 lakh in the first two months of 2014. Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) from tourism jumped 10.8% at Rs 11355 crore in February 2014 over February 2013. In dollar terms, FEEs from tourism dropped 4.3% at $1.824 billion in February 2014 over February 2013. The Ministry of Tourism compiles monthly estimates of FTAs on the basis of the FTAs data at major ports and FEEs from tourism on the basis of data available from Reserve Bank of India.
The Lok Sabha elections will be held between 7 April 2014 and 12 May 2014 in nine phases. The counting of votes will be take place on 16 May 2014. The term of the current Lok Sabha expires on June 1 and the new House has to be constituted by May 31. Along with the Lok Sabha election, Andhra Pradesh (AP), including the regions comprising Telangana, Odisha and Sikkim will go to polls to elect new assemblies. AP, Odisha and Sikkim assemblies come to end on June 2, June 7 and May 7 respectively.
With the election code of conduct coming into force, government authorities will not be able to announce any major policy initiatives. However, they can announce routine or unavoidable policy measures after taking the approval of the election commission.
The Reserve Bank of India next undertakes monetary policy review on 1 April 2014. Citing price pressures, the Reserve Bank of India raised its key lending rates by 25 basis points after Third Quarter Review of Monetary Policy for 2013-14 on 28 January 2014.
Key benchmark indices surged to record high on Friday, 7 March 2014, driven by sharp gains in domestic-focused sectors viz. banking, realty, construction and capital goods on speculation the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will be able to form the next government at Centre. The S&P BSE Sensex garnered 405.92 points or 1.89% to settle at 21,919.79 on that day, a record closing high.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 2,577.44 crore on Friday, 7 March 2014, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.
Asian stocks edged lower on Monday as weaker-than-estimated Chinese trade and inflation data stoked concern over the outlook for the world's second-largest economy. Key benchmark indices in South Korea, Indonesia, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Japan were down 0.22% to 1.45%.
Overseas shipments from China dropped 18.1% in February from a year earlier. Producer prices slid 2%, the most since July, while the inflation rate was 2% for February, reports at the weekend showed. The National People's Congress, an annual meeting of China's lawmakers, continues this week,, with People's Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan speaking tomorrow.
Japan's economy expanded less than estimated in the fourth quarter and the current-account deficit widened to a record in January, highlighting risks to Abenomics as a sales-tax increase looms. Gross domestic product grew an annualized 0.7% from the previous quarter, the Cabinet Office said today in Tokyo, less than estimates. The current-account deficit widened to 1.59 trillion yen ($15.4 billion), a record in data back to 1985, the finance ministry said.
US stocks rose on Friday, with the Standard & Poor's 500 Index closing at a record, as data showing stronger-than-forecast jobs growth overshadowed concern the situation in Ukraine could worsen.
Employers added more workers than projected in February, indicating the US economy is starting to shake off the effects of the severe winter weather that slowed growth at the start of 2014. The 175,000 gain in employment followed a 129,000 increase the prior month that was bigger than initially estimated, Labor Department figures showed in Washington. The jobless rate rose to 6.7% from 6.6% as the number of people joining the workforce swamped the quantity of jobs available. The pickup following the weakest two-month hiring gain in more than a year shows employers remain confident the economic expansion will recover after winter storms slowed consumer spending.
Fed Bank of New York President William C. Dudley said he sees a reasonably favorable outlook for the US economy. even as elevated joblessness and too-low inflation warrant a high level of stimulus for a considerable time.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) next undertakes monetary policy review on 18-19 March 2014. After a monetary policy review, the FOMC on 29 January 2014 announced it will reduce monthly bond purchases by another $10 billion to $65 billion.
Germany's Angela Merkel delivered a rebuke to President Vladimir Putin on Sunday, telling him that a planned Moscow-backed referendum on whether Crimea should join Russia was illegal and violated Ukraine's constitution.
Putin defended breakaway moves by pro-Russian leaders in Crimea, where Russian forces tightened their grip on the Ukrainian region by seizing another border post.
Russian forces' seizure of the Black Sea peninsula has been bloodless but tensions are mounting following the decision by pro-Russian groups there to make Crimea part of Russia. Putin declared a week ago that Russia had the right to invade Ukraine to protect Russian citizens, and his parliament has voted to change the law to make it easier to annex territory inhabited by Russian speakers.
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