RIL Rewards 1:1 bonus to Shareholders

Mukesh Ambani group firm Reliance Industries on Wednesday said it will issue one bonus share for every share held in the company.

The board of directors of the company at its meeting held today, recommended issuance of bonus shares in the ratio of one equity share of Rs 10 each for each share held, RIL said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The issue of bonus shares is subject to the shareholders' approval, it added. The board has also declared a dividend of Rs 13 per fully paid-up equity share of Rs 10 of the company to the shareholders, the company said.

We had committed to reward our shareholders on successful completion of our two world-class projects. I am really delighted to share with you the excitement we all have in flawless execution of the upstream project which has been recognised globally as a defining accomplishment, said RIL's chairman, Mukesh Ambani.

Our refinery project has also set new benchmarks and made Reliance the operator of the largest refinery site anywhere in the world. These are achievements that we should all have pride in and are milestones in our journey of creating value for our shareholders, he added.

Big surprise
Investors' darling Reliance announced issue of bonus shares after a 12 year-hiatus, a move that analysts expect would flare up the markets on the eve of Diwali.

The company founded by Dhirubhai Ambani, credited for drawing retail investors to stock markets in the 1970s, recommended an issue of one bonus share for every share held by shareholders and would help unlock value.

Analysts said that the surprise announcement of a bonus issue by RIL, will definitely act as trigger for the market.

Sensex climbs to 17000

At 10.40 am today, the Sensex touched the 17000 mark for the first time since May 23, 2008. Keen buying interest was seen in metal, auto, bank, capital goods and oil & gas stocks. However, FMCG stocks were trading weak. The broader indices, midcap and smallcap indices were up 0.50% each. Reliance, Infosys, ICICI Bank, L&T and SBI were the positive contributors to the Sensex.

We expect another positive start though Asian stock markets are mixed after overnight losses on Wall Street. If global cues remain indecisive the market might just turn choppy again being a curtailed week.

The market has already had a terrific run in anticipation of the imminent rebound. So, it remains to be seen how long the current momentum continues. The scope for further advance does appear to be limited and every rise will be interrupted with periodic falls.

Markets continued with its upward march taking cues from peers in Asia and on hopes of revival in global and domestic economy.

At 12:00, the Sensex was up 183 points or 1% at 17035, and the Nifty was up 50.95 points or 1.02% at 5057.80.

ADAG accuses RIL of short-changing govt on gas mktg margins

The Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG), which is involved in a bitter gas tussle with Mukesh Ambani?s Reliance Industries, has written to the Petroleum Ministry asking it to resolve the issue of marketing margin expeditiously.

Reliance Industries sells gas to ADAG and other companies at a price of USD 4.2 per unit ? ADAG's Reliance Natural Resources and RIL are already involved in a legal fight over the unit price ? and also charges marketing margins of USD 0.13 per unit.

ADAG, in its letter, said that RIL is not entitled to a marketing margin as it has not undertaken any marketing. It also said that RIL was depriving the government of its share of marketing margin and that it was violating the High Court's order and the decision of the Empower Group of Ministers over the issue.

GE extends Mah Satyam's multi-billion dollar order by 3 yrs

GE has extended its multi-million dollar contract with Mahindra Satyam by three years from January 2010. It will cater to application development and engineering services.

Commenting on the order, Arvind Malhotra, Global Account Executive of Mahindra Satyam said, ?The contract will contain the same kind of work, basically ERP implementation, application support and development and they have added engineering services and BPO services. So, this will give us an opportunity to expand our service portfolio.?

Commenting on the whether the company had given any price discounts to retail GE contract, he said, ?Actually this time GE negotiated the contract not on price but on some other parameters like global delivery capability, maturity of our process and some other elements like that.?

After reinstating the variable compensation for its employees, Mahindra Satyam has now kicked off its promotion cycle. Promoted employees have also been given marginal pay hikes.

Mahindra Satyam's turnaround plan may take a while. But employees may have some reason to cheer. Earlier this month, Mahindra Satyam announced that it was reinstating the variable compensation given to employees, which had been withdrawn after the scam. The company is promoting junior and senior management employees. It is also offering marginal pay hikes to those promoted. When contacted, a spokesperson confirmed the news. He said, "Associates have been promoted across levels based on their performance. This move is a recognition of their commitment and dedication to the organisation."

Sources say that the pay hikes given to promoted employees is only marginal. Hike in the basic component of the salary will take time to be effected.

Reliance Infratel plans $1 bn IPO: Reports

According to reports, the telecom tower unit of Indian mobile operator Reliance Communications Ltd has revived its initial public offer plan and is looking forward to raise up to Rs 5,000 crore ($1 billion).

Reliance Infratel, 95-per cent owned by the country's No. 2 mobile firm, aims to sell at least 10 per cent stake to use the capital to fund its expansion plans.

The company would file the draft prospectus within a week.

In February last year, the company had filed a prospectus with the regulator seeking to offer 10.05 per cent of the post-issue capital, which according to the media reports stated that the company was looking to raise up to Rs 6,000 crore at that time.

But a slump in equity markets worldwide, including in India, forced Reliance Infratel to shelve the plan.

The revived IPO would help ease pressure on the company to raise funds from private equity firms, with whom it has in talks.

Indian companies have raised nearly $10 billion in share sales this year, surpassing 2008 volumes, helped by a 62 per cent rally in the main BSE index this year.

State-owned energy explorer Oil India Ltd is set to launch an IPO next week to raise up to Rs 2,780 crore, while private-sector shipbuilder Pipavav Shipyard Ltd IPO is expected to start roadshows later this month for about Rs 500 crore.

NHPC listed at Rs. 42 on NSE; 17% gains

NHPC listed at Rs 42 on the NSE this morning at a premium of 16.67% to its issue price of Rs 36 a share. However, the share slipped and was trading at Rs 37.20 at a premium of 3.33% to its issue price.

The share touched an intraday high of Rs 42 at which it opened and an intraday low of Rs 36.75 in the early trades today.

At 10:20 am on the 1st Sep, 2009, the total traded quantity was 15,20,36,582 shares and turnover was at Rs 56664 lakh.

However, on the BSE, the share opened at Rs 39, at a premium of 8.33% to its issue price. It touched an intraday high of Rs 39.75 and intraday low of Rs 36.75.

The initial public offering (IPO) was of 1,67,73,74,015 equity shares of Rs 10 each with a price band of Rs 30-36 per equity share. The issue was subscribed 23.74 times.


Qualified institutional investors' (QIBs) portion was subscribed 29.16 times. Non-institutional and retail investors' portion subscribed 26.7 times and 3.87 times, respectively.
The proceeds of the fresh issue will be used to part finance the construction and development costs of certain of projects, namely, Subansiri Lower, Uri ? II, Chamera - III, Parbati ? III, Nimoo Bazgo, Chutak, and Teesta Low Dam - IV.

NHPC Listing on Exchanges on 1st September 2009

The State-run NHPC has decided to be listed on the stock exchanges on the 1st of September, 2009 which will make it the first public sector firm to be available to trade under
the second term of the Congress-led UPA government.

"From September 1, 2009, the equity shares of NHPC Ltd shall be listed and admitted to dealing in the exchange," the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) said in a statement today.

The issue price of NHPC shares has been fixed at the upper band of the IPO at Rs 36 a share.

The government run power producer raised Rs 6,000 crore through its initial public offer (IPO), which closed on August 12. It had come up with 167.73 crore shares in the primary market within the price band of Rs 30-36.

Over one-third stake is being held with the government in NHPC, which is the sole promoter of the company.

NHPC would use the IPO proceeds to part fund its ongoing investments in 11 projects. It also has plans to add 14,000 MW of power by 2020 for which it has either completed survey of projects or was in the process of surveying several others.

With an installed capacity of 4,815 MW, the company has 11 projects under construction aggregating to a total capacity of 4,622 MW. The new projects are likely to be commissioned by 2012.

With the completion of NHPC's IPO, the disinvestment programme of UPA-II has started on a high note as the IPO was over subscribed 23 times.

The previous tenure of the UPA government saw the listing of three power sector PSUs - PFC, PGCIL and REC.

Rupee to get an Identification Symbol finally!!

The Indian rupee has never had a symbol and this is the reason why the Indian government has decided to invite designs from the Indian public and judge by the number of entries received. According to the reports, the response has been phenomenal.

Major currencies of the world like the US dollar, the pound sterling, the yen and the euro among others, have an identification symbol.

The Indian rupee, however, does not. In February this year, the Finance Ministry invited Indian residents to participate in a competition for designing a 'symbol for the Indian rupee'. Government officials have told CNBC-TV18 that as many 2,500 entries have been received from across the country.

While the designs are under the wraps for the moment, a seven-member committee will soon meet for the first time to short list five entries. The committee is headed by a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor and will scrutinise the designs before choosing the final one.

The Finance Ministry has said that the symbol should represent the historical and cultural ethos of India and be widely accepted across the country. It has also said that the symbol should be applicable to a standard computer keyboard. The symbol will also have to be in the Indian national language script or a visual representation.

Finalising the chosen design will take a few months, but once the process is over, the Indian rupee will finally have a symbol - befitting its status as the currency of a rising economic power.

IPO Index Launched by BSE

The BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange) announced the launch of a new BSE IPO index that will track the value of companies for two years after listing subsequent to successful completion of their initial public offering (IPO).

Robust growth of the Indian economy at 6.7% in 2008-09, and the expectation of higher growth in the future are expected to boost the primary market. For this and other reasons, it is an appropriate time to introduce to the market an indicator that will track primary market conditions in the Indian capital market.

BSE continues to introduce index innovations with the launch of the IPO index, by introducing ceiling (capping) on weightings of index constituents. Market capitalisation weightings of index constituents will be limited to 20%. If a constituent?s market capitalization would result in a higher weighting, the company?s weight will be suitably adjusted to ensure that no single company has a weight in excess of 20% in the index. However, between any rebalancing, weightage of any index constituent can exceed 20%.

Summary of guidelines followed for BSE IPO index are as follows:

1. A company seeking listing on the Exchange after completion of IPO shall be considered eligible for inclusion in the index. Follow-on public issues shall not be considered for inclusion in the index.

2. A scrip must have the minimum free-float market capitalisation of Rs 100 crore on its first day of listing.

3. A scrip will be included in the index on the third day of its listing (T+2) subject to fulfillment of the minimum free-float market capitalisation criteria stated above.

4. A scrip will be excluded from the index on the second Monday of the month after completion of two years of listing.

5. At all time a minimum of 10 scrips shall be maintained in the index. In case, there are less than 10 companies on account of possible exclusion after two years, the exclusion of such company shall be delayed till such time new inclusion is made in the index.

6. The maximum weight of any scrip shall be capped at 20%. The constituent weightage shall be reviewed at the time of inclusion/exclusion of a scrip and on monthly rebalancing. However, between any rebalancing, weightage of any index constituent can exceed 20%

7. Base date of the index is May 3, 2004; while base index value is set to 1000 points. Index value on August 21, 2009 is 1901.67.

8. The index would be calculated and disseminated on a real-time basis through BOLT effective August 24, 2009 and shall also be available on our website.

Pyramid Saimira to consider demerger on Aug 25, 2009

Pyramid Saimira Theatre Ltd has announced that a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company will be held on August 25, 2009, to consider International offering of securities.

The Board will also consider de-merger of subsidiary Company. The stock was trading at Rs.23.40, up by Rs.1.10 or 4.93%. The stock hit an intraday high of Rs.23.40 and low of Rs.23.40.

The total traded quantity was 15332 compared to 2 week average of 55718.

New US economic data set to test Wall Street bull run

New US economic data in the coming week will test the resilience of Wall Street US shares scaled fresh highs for the year on upbeat remarks by Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke and buoyant housing data.

All three major market indexes were resting at new 2009 peaks at the end of trading Friday, buoyed by a record jump in existing-home sales in July and Bernanke's comments that recovery prospects "appear good" in the near term for the United States and the rest of the world after the worst slump in six decades.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 184.56 points or 1.9 per cent for the week to finish at 9,505.96 on Friday. The blue-chip index had not finished above 9,500 since early November and has now climbed about 45 per cent from its March low.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite leapt 35.38 points (1.7 per cent) to 2,020.90 and the broad-market Standard & Poor's 500 index advanced 22.04 points (2.1 per cent) to 1,026.13 - the third consecutive weekly close atop the millennium level.

Analysts said new data next week, including a second preliminary estimate of US gross domestic product (GDP) for the second quarter on Thursday, would be critical in guaging market resilience.

The initial estimate showed the US economy contracting 1.0 per cent in the April-June period following a severe 6.4 per cent contraction in the first quarter.

Most analysts expect the new estimate to show a greater contraction of 1.4 per cent.

Week Starts with Panic Monday; Nifty below 4400

On the start of a new week the Sensex fell 626 points to close at 14,785 while the Nifty lost 192 points to close the day at 4,388.

It happened to be a shattering start of the week as the Indian markets kept trading in the red in the second consecutive session mirroring Friday.

The Benchmark Index Sensex has lost over 700 points in the last couple of trading days.

The 6% downfall in the Chinese markets was the major sentiment shatterer on Monday as the Shanghai Composite index in China witnessed the biggest down fall for the first time since November last year.

The cues from the rest of the world were also not at all encouraging. Selling pressure was seen in the equity marets across Asia, Europe and also the US Futures markets.

Now Coming back to India, it was an all round selling seen on the Indian bourses.

Even the Mid-Cap and the Small-indices ended in deep red. The BSE Mid-Cap index fell 3.7% and the Small-Cap index declined 3%.

The BSE Sensex slipped by 626 points at 14,785. The index opened at 15,284 which was an intra-day high for Sensex and a later hit a low of 14,740. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty lost 192 points to close at 4,388.

All the 30-components of Sensex ended in the red. The major losers were Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, L&T, ITC, Infosys and SBI.

In the broader market, major losers included HDIL, IFCI, United Phosphorous, LITL, Videocon Industries and Jet Airways.

NTPC approves filing Special Leave Petition in RIL case

The gas battle is bubbling under pressure from all sides. Reliance Industries in a letter to the power and oil secretaries on August 12 has said all issues have been resolved with NTPC for signing gas sales and purchase agreements (GSPAs) for four power plants that are not in dispute.

The NTPC board has discussed the Solicitor General's view on the RIL case and had approved the filing of a special leave petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court.

The SLP will be finalised post the ministerial panel meet and filed sometime this week.

Market closes 350 points lower at 15,150 on 7th August 2009

Today the Indian markets closed sharply lower for a second consecutive day as investors booked profits after a sharp rise in the country's benchmarks Sensex and the Nifty. Poor monsoon and weak global markets played the role of making the things worse for the Markets on second day in a row.

Bombay Stock Exchanges Sensex closed at 15152.69, down 361.34 points or 2.33 per cent. The index touched an intra-day low of 15104 and an high of 15501.94.

National Stock Exchanges Nifty ended at 4474.35, down 111.15 points or 2.42 per cent. The broader index hit a low of 4463.95 and high of 4591.90.

BSE MidCap Index was down 2.36 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index declined 2.01 per cent.

Amongst the sectoral indices, BSE Auto Index fell 4.03 per cent, BSE Realty Index slipped 3.31 per cent and BSE Bankex declined 2.88 per cent.

Reliance Communications (-6.12%), Maruti Suzuki (-5.87%), Mahindra & Mahindra (-5.56%), Jaiprakash Associates (-5.53%) and Tata Power (-5.06%) were amongst the Sensex losers.

NTPC (0.38%) was the only Sensex gainer in the Todays Session.

Market breadth was negative on the BSE with 1919 declines and 748 declines.

(All figures are provisional)

News Source: Economic Times

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Nifty Crosses 4700; makes a new 52-week High

The markets moved northwards with the start of a new week and clearly mirrored the European markets and closed at 52-week highs, led by gains in auto, realty and metal stocks.

Indices turned choppy after a positive start as market lacked triggers from domestic front post earnings season. It got the push from European peers who also hit new highs of 2009 after earnings threw positive surprises.

Bombay Stock Exchange?s Sensex closed at 15,924.23, up 253.92 points or 1.62 per cent. The index hit a 52-week high of 15963.36 after touching a low of 15,608.40 in early trade.

National Stock Exchange?s Nifty settled at 4711.40, up 74.95 points or 1.62 per cent after hitting a new 52-week high of 4723.30.

Meanwhile, clearing the government?s stand on the gas dispute between Reliance Industries and Reliance Natural Resources, Petroleum Minister, Murli Deora said the government had no role in the Ambani family dispute. "We have nothing to do with the private dispute of two industries or industrialists. However, we have everything to do with protecting the interests of the government and public interest, this is our constitutional and legal obligation," he said. This saw shares of RIL close 2.96 per cent higher while RNRL was up 0.66 per cent.

The BSE Midcap Index surged 2.36 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index gained 1.74 per cent. Sector wise, BSE Auto Index surged 4.6 per cent, BSE Realty climbed 4.19 per cent and BSE Metal Index advanced 3.41 per cent.

Among sectors, auto makers expect the growth momentum in sales to continue in the next few months, especially in the upcoming festival season. And that after posting double-digit jump in sales in July. Car sales in the domestic market registered a 28% growth to 67,528 units in the month. The country?s largest car maker, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI), reported a 33% jump in sales to 78,074 cars. Utility vehicle major Mahindra & Mahindra?s sales grew 27% to 21,957 vehicles in July.

Market breadth was positive on the BSE with 1761 advances and 953 declines. The biggest Sensex gainers were Hindalco Industries (7.98%), Mahindra & Mahindra (6.88%), Reliance Communications (5.17%), BHEL (5.15%) and Tata Steel (4.52%).

Hindustan Unilever (-2.25%), ITC (-0.7%), HDFC Bank (-0.39%) and HDFC (-0.17%) were the losers.

In another development, Hindustan Unilever said it is planning to lease its famed headquarters in south Mumbai--to top corporate or banks. The company is understood to have mandated Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj to handle the deal.

European markets were upbeat as positive earnings from corporates gave hopes of some recovery in the economy. At 5:15 pm, FTSE 100 was up 1.59 per cent, CAC 40 gained 1.55 per cent and DAX moved 1.63 per cent higher. US markets are also likely to have a gap-up opening. Dow Jones futures were up 0.95 per cent, S&P 500 futures gained 1 per cent and Nasdaq 100 moved 1.15 per cent higher.

Markets Surge: Sensex and Nifty hit new 2009 Highs

The Indian Markets got to see the current high levels for the first time in 2009 with both Sensex and Nifty trading at their highs. At 11:42, the sensex is at 15702 up 314 points (approx. 2%) over the last close and Nifty is also showing gains at 4654 up 83 points (1.8%).

Both the bench marks had started off in style with the BSE benchmark Sensex hitting its 2009 high of 15,686 in the early trades at around 10:06 am. The NSE Nifty surged past 4,650 levels as well.

The sharp uptrend seen in the morning is led by strong global cues. In Asia, the Nikkei index in Japan also hit its new 2009 high.

All the 30 shares of the Bench,ark Index are in the green. Reliance Industries, L&T, Infosys, ICICI Bank and SBI are among the major gainers.

In Asia, the stocks started the day with smart gains with the Japanese Index Nikkei hitting the years high. The rally is led by better-than- expected corporate earnings. Sony Corp surged 4.4%, Yamato Holdings surged 8.6%, Rio Tinto advanced 3%.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 1.3% to 111.30 as of 11:06 a.m. in Tokyo.

Australia?s S&P/ASX Index gained 1.1%. New Zealand?s NZX 50 Index rose 1%, while South Korea?s Kospi was up 1.2%.

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Sensex closes flat; Reliance, ONGC plunge

Key indices ended choppy session on a flat note Monday while broader markets witnessed sustained buying activity. Traders ignored positive global cues and booked profits at higher levels. Dismal numbers from Reliance Industries also capped the gains.

Bombay Stock Exchange?s Sensex ended at 15375.97, down 2.99 points or 0.02 per cent. The index touched an intra-day low of 15228.46 and high of 15463.09.

National Stock Exchange?s Nifty closed at 4570.45, up 1.90 points or 0.04 per cent. The broader index hit a high of 4596.75 and low of 4528.50.

BSE Midcap Index was up 1.61 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index gained 1.46 per cent.

Biggest Sensex gainers were Hindustan Unilever (6.59%), Tata Power (6.41%), DLF (4.71%), Tata Steel (3.93%) and Tata Motors (3.19%).

Losers comprised Reliance Industries (-3.86%), ONGC (-3.04%), Hero Honda (-2.86%), Mahindra & Mahindra (-2.23%) and ICICI Bank (-1.77%).

Market breadth on BSE was positive with 1673 advances outnumbering 970 declines. (All figures are provisional)

Original Source: Economic Times News

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