Tata Power is experimenting with low calorific value coal at its power generation unit in Trombay, Mumbai. The plan is to replicate the same at its 4,000 MW Mundra plant in Gujarat, which is expected to be commissioned soon. Tata Power, which won the Mundra project in 2007, was supposed to use Indonesian coal but the current high prices of imported coal is bound to impact its margins. The Indonesian government recently revised its export policy, linking the prices of its coal to international rates. The company, to ensure fuel supplies to its Mundra unit, had invested in Bumi Resources' coal mines in Indonesia. But because of the changed circumstances, it is looking at alternatives like switching to imported low-grade coal to bring costs down. Simultaneously, it has raised the coal price and project viability issues with the Indian government, and is seeking a higher rate for its supply from the Mundra project.

New Delhi (18 October ,2010),(pti). Adani Enterprises will invest USD 6.9 billion in developing its recently acquired Australian coal mines, the company said today.

"Adani . Is committed to invest USD 6.9 billion (about Rs 30,500 crore) in Australia for developing mine, rail and port project in its Galilee Basin coal mine in Queensland, Australia to produce up to 60 million tonnes of coal a year at its peak,"it said in a statement.

The acquisition is one of the largest coal mine deals by an Indian group. The company in August bought the coal mine for about Rs 12,600 crore in a cash and royalty deal.

As part of the buyout deal, the group had paid Rs 2,100 crore in cash and is to make additional payment of about Rs 10,500 crore over the next 20 years in royalties to Linc on the estimated 7.8 billion tonnes of coal reserves.

"We are targeting first coal by the end of 2014 and a production of between 50 and 60 MMTPA to be achieved by 2022,"Executive Chairman and Founder, Adani Group, Gautam Adani said.

"This investment represents the largest ever Indian investment in Australia and an important benchmark investment in low rank thermal coal assets, a segment that has previously been ignored because of inadequate logistics,"he added.

Meanwhile, the group's office was opened at Brisbane today by Queensland Premier Anna Bligh, which the company said is a milestone towards its goal of mining 200 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of coal, generating 20,000 MW of power and moving 200 million tonnes of cargo through its ports by 2020.

It was also awarded preferred proponent status for developing the Dudgeon point terminal in Macay, Queensland, which gives the Adani Group the right to develop a coal terminal with an annual capacity of 30-60 million tonnes.

Sources earlier said the group was in talks with Coal India Ltd (CIL) to take on board the state-owned company as a partner for developing the Australian mines.

Select base metals remain up on global cues

New Delhi, Oct 16, 2010(PTI) Select base metals--copper remained higher and added up to Rs 2 per kg in the local non- ferrous metals market today on sustained buying by stockists, influenced by a firming trend at the London Metal Exchange.

Trading sentiment in select base metals remained firm as copper firmed in global markets, on speculation that demand will improve as the Federal Reserve takes additional steps to spur the US economic growth.

Meanwhile, copper for delivery in three months was ended at USD 8,400 a metric tonne on the London Metal Exchange.

In the national capital, copper wire scrap, copper wire bar and copper mixed scrap remained in demand and added Rs 2 each to Rs 432, Rs 451 and Rs 412 per kg, respectively.

Zinc ingot, lead ingot and lead imported also traded higher by rupee one each to 126.50, Rs 128 and Rs 130 per kg.

Following were today's quotations in Rs per kg:.

Tin ingot 815, zinc ingot 126.50, nickel plate (4x4) 990 -992, gun metal scrap 226, bell metal scrap 228, copper wire scrap 432, copper wire bar 451, copper mixed scrap 412.00, Utensil scrap 224, Chadripital 175.

Lead ingot 128, lead imported 130, aluminium ingots 102, sheet cutting 105, aluminium wire scrap 102 and aluminium utensils scrap 102.

New Delhi, Oct 13, 2010(PTI) SpiceJet's new promoters SunTV chief Kalanithi Maran and his company KAL Airways will launch an open offer to acquire an additional 20 per cent stake in the low-cost carrier on October 18, said Enam Securities, the manager of the offer.

"The open offer will open on October 18 and will close on November 6, 2010, as per the revised schedule,"Enam Securities, which is managing the offer on behalf of Maran and KAL Airways, said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

In June, the Chennai-based industrialist had clinched a deal to acquire a 37.7 per cent stake in the low-cost carrier for Rs 739.57 crore from American investor Wilbur Ross, his investment companies and the Kansagara family-promoted Royal Holding Services Ltd.

Shareholders will be offered Rs 57.76 for every share they hold in SpiceJet, translating into a 3 per cent premium over the closing price of Rs 56.05 on June 11, 2010

This would involve an outgo of around Rs 480 crore, taking the overall deal size to Rs 1,220 crore as Maran and his firm KAL Airways had clinched the deal to pick up a 37.73 per cent stake in SpiceJet at Rs 47.25 apiece

As per market regulator Sebi's takeover norms, the new promoters of a company are required to make an open offer in case their stake crosses the threshold limit of 15 per cent.

Shares of the airline were being traded at Rs 78.05 apiece on the Bombay Stock Exchange today, 35 per cent higher than the open offer price.

Enam's filing further said the Letter Offer to the equity shareholders of SpiceJet is in continuation and should be read in conjunction with the public announcement of June 14, 2010, pursuant to SEBI regulations.

It had said on June 14 that it will acquire as many as 8.30 crore shares of Rs 10 face value at a price of Rs 57.76 per fully paid-up equity share through the open offer, representing 20 per cent of the equity in the company.

On Monday, Maran had increased his direct stake in the airline to 25.12 per cent by acquiring a 7.42 per cent additional stake through off-market transactions for Rs 135 crore .

New Delhi, Oct 17, 2010(PTI) Spice Mobility today said it will launch 8-9 models and invest about Rs 25 crore in marketing and promotional activities during the festive season.

The new handsets, to be launched in the price range of Rs 2,000-6,000, will include basic handsets and QWERTY keypad phones. The company will also launch an Android-based tablet and handset, but has not disclosed the pricing yet.

"We have lined up 8-9 new new handsets for launch this Diwali. We expect good sales in the festive season (October-November) and have offering at various price points to suit each customer's needs,"Spice Mobility's Vice President (Marketing) Naveen Paul told PTI.

He, however, declined to comment on the sales targets for the festive season.

"We would invest about Rs 20-25 crore in various marketing and promotional activities. We would also introduce three new television commercials, which would hit the screen soon,"Paul said.

Asked about the Android market, Paul said,"The Android market is still a very small market in India, but is growing. We are still studying the market for the pricing and the product requirements. We will launch more devices on the Android platform."

Spice already has an Android-based mobile handset, priced at Rs 9,990 in the Indian market.

Android is a mobile operating system, which was initially developed by Google and later by the Open Handset Alliance (OHA), a consortium of 50 hardware, software, and telecom companies.

It allows developers to design applications independent of the handset type and users can download over 70,000 applications like games, music, music players and location-based services.

Handset makers like HTC, Samsung and Motorola have already launched Android-powered phones in India, with more companies looking to joining the bandwagon soon. Many players like Dell have also introduced tablet PCs based on the platform.

According to research firm Gartner, Android operating system comprised 17.2 per cent share of the global smartphone market for the quarter ended June 2010, third after Symbian and Research in Motion.

New Delhi, Jul 5, 2011(PTI) Entertainment major Saregama India today said it has picked up 10 per cent stake in Timbre Media, a company floated by ex-Worldspace Radio employees for an undisclosed sum. The two parties will also partner to provide a variety of genre-based radio channels to the Indian market. "The two companies plan to use content from Saregama's extensive library, as well as from other popular labels to provide 24-hour stations of Indian music.,"the companies said in a joint statement. The music choice will range from old Hindi films, Hindustani classical, Carnatic classical, new Hindi music, ghazals and stations in all major Indian languages, it added. The companies also plan to leverage on the distribution network of Saregama and the Timbre Media-developed content to target the digital domains of mobile, Internet and Direct-to- Home television services. "This is a very logical alliance for Saregama as it takes us to the next stage in the value chain with our content. We believe that there is still a very loyal customer base that appreciates the quality that the Timbre team provided previously on Worldspace,"Saregama India Business Head (Music) Adarsh Gupta said. Timbre Media Co-founder and CEO M Sebastian said since early 2010, the firm has established critical infrastructure needed for high quality services, including new studio facilities in Mumbai and Bangalore. "We have been steadily building partnerships and clientele in the radio and music industry,"he added.

New Delhi, Oct 17, 2010(PTI) Within days of its shareholders approving Russian government's plan to pick up 20 per cent stake for USD 600 million, Sistema-Shyam, a joint venture between Russia-based Sistema and India?s Shyam Group, today said it will list the company here by early 2011.

Sistema-Shyam Telecom Limited (SSTL) offers mobile telecom service under brand MTS and uses CDMA technology.

"Clearly I don't see many constraints in listing,"SSTL President&CEO Vsevolod Rozanov told PTI when asked whether the company will come out with public offering or list itself on Indian stock exchange by early next year.

A Rajasthan High Court order requires the company to initiate the process of listing within 18 months starting from August 8, 2008.

"We are actually working on this because we have received an order from High Court of Rajasthan,"he said.

Sistema, leading public diversified corporations in the Russia and the CIS region, has a 74 per cent stake in the joint venture with the Shyam Group.

Shyam Group holds 23.5 per cent stake and the rest 2.5 per cent being public partake.

SSTL was given telecom licence for pan-India operations in January 2008 and has CDMA spectrum for all the circles. The Russian Federation will put USD 600 million (about Rs 2,800 crore) in the company.

"It has been accorded to offer, issue and allot on a preferential basis in one or more tranches, up to 58.406 crore equity shares of Rs 10 each at a price of Rs 49.31 to the Federal Agency for State Property Management of the Russian Federation,"the resolution, passed at the AGM held recently, said.

The shares would be alloted within 12 months from the date of the shareholders'approval in the AGM.

Sistema is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

SSTL had earlier said they plan to list in 2010, however, as the telecom sector was struggling due to cut throat competition, the telco had shelved the plan.

However, Rozanov feels the worst is over for the telecom sector but still time is not right for SSTL to hit the market.

".What we see now is that the analysts perception and consumer perception on the telecom sector is changing and improving. But we are still not there. There is not so burning need to list business wise,"he added.

"We don't want to give out our opportunity at the cheaper price if the funding is already their with us."

The company, which sees itself as a strong data- services provider, is presently active in 12 circles in the country.

Mumbai, Jul 5, 2011(PTI) Essar Ports, the demerged entity of erstwhile Essar Shipping, Ports and Logistics Limited, has posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 70.15 crore for the year ended March 31, 2011.

The total operating income of the company in 2010-11 stood at Rs 1,940.81 crore, the company said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Of this, earnings from fleet operations and chartering contributed about Rs 636.68 crore, while the contribution of its port and terminal services was Rs 698.91 crore

However, the results are not comparable as the company has not included results of Shipping, Logistics and Oilfield Services businesses, which has been hived off to another entity, Essar Shipping Limited, from October 1, 2010, the filing added.

It further said that pursuant to demerger scheme, which became effective from May 09, 2011, the authorised share capital of the company stands reduced to Rs 1,010.50 crore from Rs 1,510.50 crore prior to the scheme and the company has been renamed as Essar Ports Limited.

Besides this, Essar Bulk Terminal Paradip Ltd has become a subsidiary of the company from March 31, 2011, the filing said.

Mumbai, Oct 14, 2010(PTI) The Instanex Skindia GDR Index rose by 80.61 points or 248 per cent, to 3,336.03 on October 13 from 3,255.42 previously

The P/E ratio also firmed up to 27.56 from 2687 previously, an Instanex Capital release said here today.

Following are the GDR and ADR rates for October 13 in US dollars, with the difference vis-a-vis the previous level given as a percentage in brackets: Company: Price Percent chg Dr Reddy's (ADR) 36.00 ( 238)

GAIL (GDR) 68.60 ( 178) Grasim Ind (GDR) 51.96 (-015) ICICI Bank (ADR) 52.56 ( 228) Infosys Tech (ADR) 71.20 ( 328) ITC (GDR) 3.80 (-068)

L&T (GDR) 46.76 ( 461) Mah&Mah (GDR) 16.37 ( 322) Ranbaxy Labs (GDR) 13.57 ( 007) Reliance (GDR) 48.19 ( 244) Satyam Comp (ADR) 3.75 ( 190)

SBI (GDR) 146.20 ( 111) Sterlite Ind (ADR) 16.56 ( 337) Tata Commun (ADR) 15.28 ( 331) Tata Motors (ADR) 27.85 ( 265)

BS Transcomm IPO fully subscribed on final day

New Delhi, Oct 13, 2010(PTI) The initial public offering of BS Transcomm got fully subscribed on the final day of issue today with maximum bids coming in from retail and non-institutional investors.

The issue, through which the Hyderabad-based company aims to raise about Rs 197 crore, received total bids for 84.1 lakh shares as against 76.7 lakh equities on offer, as per the NSE data.

The issue was originally scheduled to close on October 9, but was extended till today as the IPO did not received good response from investors earlier.

The low demand for IPO had forced the company to lower the price band of its public offer to Rs 248 to Rs 257 per share, from earlier Rs 257 to Rs 266 per share.

In the portion reserved for non-institutional investors, the IPO as oversubscribed 3.16 times and in retail category 1.04 times However, in qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) portion, the IPO remained under-subscribed at 52 per cent, as per the data available with the National Stock Exchange.

At the upper end of new price band, the issue is valued worth Rs 197.36 crore while earlier it was aimed to garner Rs 204 crore.

The IPO proceeds will be utilised to fund the expansion plans of the company.

BS Transcomm is engaged in the manufacture and supply of telecommunication and transmission towers, sub-station structures and also provides service solutions to the telecom infrastructure and power transmission sectors.

The company supplies towers to entities such as Reliance Infratel, Wireless, TT Info Services, Indus Towers and Power Grid, among others.

Mumbai, Oct 14, 2010(PTI) The National Stock Exchange (NSE) overnight Mumbai Intra-Bank Bid Rate (MIBID) and Mumbai Inter-Bank Offer Rate (MIBOR) at 9.40 am today were:.

OVERNIGHT :-. NSE - MIBID 6.31 Pc Standard Deviation 0.0130 Pc NSE - MIBOR 6.37 Pc Standard Deviation 0.0097 Pc ------

Philips, a pioneer in television technology, today launched its new range of LCDs, LEDs and ultra slim TVs.

"We want to become the leading television brand by 2012 and we are confident that the new range of televisions launched is a step in that direction,"PE Electronics'Chief Operating Officer-Philips Televisions India Neeraj Sethi said in a press statement here.

Philips unveiled 15 models of LEDs, eight models of LCDs and five models of ultra slim TVs.

"Going forward, we intend to bring in best of the products and technologies from our international stable that would redefine the premium television market in India,"he said.

The LED sets would be available in sizes ranging from 22-55-inch, while LCD models would be available in sizes ranging from 24-46-inch.

The price range of LED TVs would start from Rs 26,500 while the LCDs are priced at Rs 16,499. The price range of ultra slim TVs starts from Rs 5,290, the release said.

The release said that Philips would promote its flat panel TV range under the flagship model Cinema 21:9 TV.

New Delhi, Oct 13, 2010(PTI) German automotive component maker ZF today said its new assembly plant in Pune, which could produce up to 25,000 heavy truck transmissions annually, has been commissioned.

"This location means that we are represented right at the centre of the booming region of India, participating in the rapid growth of the aspiring country,"ZF CEO Hans-Georg Harter said in a statement.

The newly opened facility is spread over nearly 54,000 square feet and can produce 25,000 ZF-Ecomid 9-speed transmissions annually.

"In the medium term, our new transmission plant will produce approximately 25,000 nine-speed transmissions annually for heavy trucks up to more than 40 tons weight,"ZF India Commercial Vehicle Business Head Mandeep Bhalla said.

Depending on the demand, the company can produce other truck transmission types for its current customers, including Asia Motor Works, Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland, Mahindra Navistar and Volvo-Eicher, as well as new customers, he added.

To start off with, the company has employed 80 employees in the truck transmission assembly plant. After production ramp-up the figure is likely to go up to 150 in the next five years.

Further, the company, which has been in the country for the last three decades, is looking at a localisation of 85 per cent in the assembly plant.

"Transmission housings, gears, and shafts are already being produced in India; in the medium term, a localization level of 80 to 85 percent is planned,"Bhalla added.

ABG Shipyard bags order worth Rs 370 crore

New Delhi, Oct 15, 2010(PTI) ABG Shipyard, a domestic ship manufacturing and repairing company, today announced that it has received orders worth Rs 370 crore (approximately USD 82.5 million) from two different customers.

The first order is worth USD 65 million from Qatar-based Halul Offshore, which is being jointly promoted by Qatar Shipping Company and Qatar Navigation, it said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The second order, of USD 17.50 million, is from Italian shipping company, Marnavi Spa, which is operating on the world chemical-product and foodstuff market, the filing added.

ABG Shipyard also announced that it has completed the acquisition of Western India Shipyard by acquiring about 61 per cent stake in the company and has got all regulatory approvals.

Chana remains firm on firm spot demand

New Delhi, Oct 14, 2010(PTI) Chana prices rose for the second straight day by adding Rs 7 to Rs 2,176 per quintal in futures trade today, as speculators enlarged their positions on pick up in festive demand in spot markets.

At the Multi Commodity Exchange, chana for October-month rose by Rs 7, or 0.32 per cent, to Rs 2,176 per quintal, with an open interest of one lot.

The commodity for delivery in November-month also traded marginally higher by Rs 2, or 0.09 per cent, to Rs 2,257 per quintal, with an open interest of single lot.

Marketmen said rising festive demand amid decline in arrivals led to a rise in chana prices at futures trade.

New Delhi, Oct 14, 2010(PTI) Potato futures prices continued to rise and added Rs 1.30, or 021 per cent, to Rs 606.70 per quintal, as traders enlarged their positions on good demand in spot markets, supported by the ongoing festive season.

Tight supplies from producing regions also supported the uptrend in potato futures.

At the Multi Commodity Exchange platform, potato for delivery in March added Rs 1.30, or 021 per cent, to Rs 606.70 per quintal, with an open interest of just one lot.

The commodity for delivery in the April contract also traded marginally higher by Rs 0.30, or 005 per cent, to Rs 586.70 per quintal, with a business turnover of two lots.

New Delhi, Oct 14, 2010(PTI) Studded jewellery exporter Tara Jewels today revealed its plans to raise Rs 200 crore through an initial public offer (IPO) and filed the draft prospectus with market regulator Sebi.

The company has filed its draft red herring prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Board of India for IPO, it said in a statement, adding that the issue size of public float was Rs 200 crore.

The issue would also comprise an offer for sale of shares by Fabrikant HK Trading (Rs 50 crore), Tara Jewels added.

Enam Securities is the sole book running lead manager to the issue.

The company is a recent entrant to country's organised jewellery retail industry. Its filing for an IPO reflects the upbeat market sentiment whereas more and more firms are lining up to cash in the buoyant stock market.

New Delhi, Oct 14, 2010(PTI) Taking strong cues from global markets, copper futures prices rose by Rs 1.80, or 048 per cent, to Rs 378.40 per kg in futures trade today on fresh buying by speculators.

Firming trend at spot markets on pick up in demand from consuming industries also supported the uptrend.

At the Multi Commodity Exchange platform, copper delivery for February rose by Rs 1.80, or 048 per cent, to Rs 378.40 per kg, with a business turnover of just one lot.

Similarly, the metal for delivery in November traded higher by Rs 1.75, or 047 per cent, to Rs 376.55 per kg, with a business turnover of 18 lots.

Analysts said reports of firming trend at overseas markets, where the metal climbed to a 27-month high and pick up in demand at domestic markets, mainly influenced the copper futures prices.

Mumbai, Oct 15, 2010(PTI) Piramal Sunteck Realty Pvt Ltd (PSRPL) today won the bid for a 8,230 square meters plot in Airoli in Navi Mumbai for Rs 75 crore from the city development corporation.

PSPRL is a joint venture between the Ajay Piramal Group and Suntech Realty Ltd.

According to a press release, Piramal Sunteck Realty, which emerged as the winner in the bid organised by City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO) offered Rs 91,116.99 psqm for Airoli on Palm Beach Road, with the second-highest bid quoting at Rs 88,900 psqm.

Piramal Sunteck has over 20 million square feet under development with premium residential and commercial assets across city-centric locations in Mumbai, Nagpur and Jaipur.

The company was set up in 2007 between the Ajay Piramal Group, a leading Indian conglomerate with operations spanning pharmaceutical, healthcare and glass, and Sunteck Realty, one of Mumbai?s premium real estate developer led by Kamal Khetan.

PSRPL's Managing Director Kamal Khetan said,"We are happy to have acquired our second plot in Airoli, and believe that we now have the unique opportunity to develop one more value added product and create significant value for our stakeholders.

Gold breached the crucial Rs 20,000 per ten grams level in the national capital today, on frantic buying for the ongoing festivals.

While the gold spurted by Rs 175 to an all-time high of Rs 20,120 per ten grams, silver jumped up by Rs 1,200 to Rs 37,000 per kg, a level never seen before.

Buying activity in the precious metals picked up for the ongoing festivals of'Navratras,'an auspicious week in Hindu mythology for buying new things.

The trading sentiment further bolstered on reports of a firming trend in overseas markets, as investors rushed to look for an alternate investment over concerns about slowing global economic recovery.

Gold climbed to a record levels near USD 1,388 an ounce and silver extended its 30-year high rally as a weaker dollar spurred demand for safe alternative investments.

The gold in international markets spurted to near USD 1,388 dollar an ounce in overseas markets as dollar fell to a 15-year low against yen. Silver rose by 39 per cent to USD 24.92 an ounce in London, the highest price since March 1980.

On domestic front, the gold for 99.9 and 995 per cent purity rose by Rs 175 each at Rs 20,120 and Rs 20,020 per ten grams respectively. Sovereign also rose by Rs 100 to Rs 15,750 per piece of eight gram.

New Delhi, Oct 15, 2010(PTI) Freight rates for 10 metric tonne pay load section remained steady in the local truck transport market today due to restricted cargo movements.

Transporters said negligible cargo as well as trucks movements, following restrictions imposed on cargo movements due to the"Common Wealth Games", largely held freight rates unchanged.

Following are today's rates in Rs for load of 10 per tonnes:.

Ahmedabad 10,000. Hyderabad 32,000. Mumbai 19,500. Vijayawada 34,000. Baroda 15,000. Chennai 36,000. Pune 23,500. Bangalore 41,000. Surat 17,000. Mysore 43,000. Kanpur 9,000. Pondicherry 46,000. Kolkata 24,000. Coimbatore 49,000. Ludhiana 10,000. Kochi 52,000. Chandigarh 8,000. Thiruvananthapuram 56,000. Jaipur 10,500. Goa 38,000. Indore 12,500. Gwalior 10,500. Patna 20,000. Guwahati 42,000.

New Delhi, Oct 15, 2010(PTI) Textile industry has sought Prime Ministers'intervention for ensuring availability of cotton for domestic firms considering that exporters registered 55 lakh bales cotton for exports within 10 days of the government initiating the process.

The government has permitted export of 55 lakh bales of cotton (of 170 kg each) for the period ending December 15, 2010. Registration of export contracts was started on October 1 while the shipments are to begin from November 1.

However, the total contracts have already touched the ceiling of 55 lakh bales, spurring fears of cotton shortage in the country.

"This will lead to a cotton famine in the country and mills will be forced to close down or scale down production drastically,"Confederation of Indian Textile industries (CITI) chairman Jaipuria said in a letter to Prime Minister.

Completion of export registration within 10 days means that exporters would need to acquire this quantity by November end and ship this out by December 15, 2010, the confederation said.

Even if last year's ending stock of 40.5 lakh bales as estimated by Cotton Advisory Board (CAB) is taken into account, there will be practically no cotton stock left if 55 lakh bales get exported during this time,"Jaipuria said.

"This scenario has pushed up cotton prices to over Rs 41,000 a candy, as against Rs 23,000 a candy that prevailed during this time last year,"Citi said while urging the government to delay the cotton exports against the contracts already registered, up to January 1, 2011.

Each candy consists of 356 kg of cotton.

Citi also demanded the withdrawal of export incentive of 1.5 per cent given by government on cotton exports.

Earlier, the government had announced that duty free exports of 55 lakh bales would be allowed in the current cotton marketing season.

The Commerce Ministry had said that exports beyond 55 lakh bales would attract duty. To curb exports in wake of rising domestic prices of cotton, a duty of Rs 2,500 per tonne was imposed.

As per conservative estimates, the cotton production in 2010-11 is likely to be 325 lakh bales. However, the Agriculture Ministry expects the yield to touch 335 lakh bales.

New Delhi, Oct 15, 2010(PTI) Reliance Industries today said it has raised USD 1.5 billion from its first benchmark sale of bonds denominated in US dollars.

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-run firm sold USD 1 billion of 10-year notes and USD 500 million of 30-year bonds, the company said in a press statement here.

Reliance Holding USA Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of RIL, priced the 10-year notes at 205 basis points, or 2.05 percentage points, more than similar maturity US Treasury note and the 30-year bond at 240 basis points.

The two notes"will be denominated in US dollars, and will bear fixed interest of 4.50 per cent and 625 per cent per annum, respectively, with interest payable semi-annually in arrear,"it said.

Reliance Holding will use the net proceeds to refinance existing debt, making other business investments and for general corporate purposes.

It had taken USD 765 million loan to purchase shale-gas properties in the US.

Company's Chief Financial Officer Alok Agarwal said:"I am delighted with the outcome of this offering. It is truly a global benchmark supported by high quality accounts that believe in Reliance's credit and value creation story."

Banc of America Securities LLC, Citigroup Global Markets Inc, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp and The Royal Bank of Scotland plc acted as joint book runners and lead managers.

"The transaction priced through global comparables and was nearly 7.8 times oversubscribed with an order book aggregating USD 11.6 billion,"the company said.

This is Reliance's first return to the global markets since its last USD issuance in 1997 and its largest ever public market offshore bond offering.

"In terms of geographic distribution, the (10-year) 2020 Notes were distributed 25 per cent in Asia, 21 per cent in Europe and 54 per cent in the United States, while the (30-year) 2040 Notes were distributed 27 per cent in Asia, 18 per cent in Europe and 55 per cent in the United States,"the release said.

The Notes were distributed to high quality fixed income accounts: the 2020 Notes were distributed 53 per cent to asset managers, 22 per cent to hedge funds, 10 per cent to banks and private banks and 15 per cent to insurance and pension funds, while the 2040 Notes were distributed 58 per cent to asset managers, 22 per cent to hedge funds, 10 per cent to banks and private banks, and 10 per cent to insurance and pension funds.

Mumbai, Oct 15, 2010(PTI) Days ahead of launch of its Rs 1,000 crore retail bonds issue, the country's largest lender State Bank of India today said it is likely to offer many more such issues every quarter.

State Bank of India will launch its up to Rs 1,000 crore retail bond issue on October 18. The issue is a part of its Tier II offering and will comprise an issue of Rs 500 crore with an option to retain over-subscription up to Rs 500 crore for issuance of additional bonds totalling Rs 1,000 crore.

"The bank would launch first of its kind offering of bond issue to raise up to Rs 1,000 crore from retail investors next week, and will have a range of such products in future,"State Bank of India's Chairman O P Bhatt told reporters here.

To a query on more such offerings, Bhatt said the bank is likely to offer many more retail bond issues every quarter.

"Going forward, we intend to do more bond issues. We want to create a secondary market for these issues, so that exit becomes easy and price discovery takes place,"Bhatt said, adding"over a period of time this will help us build a bigger corpus of long term resources."

"We believe that at present the investment opportunities for investors are very limited, which needs to be increased. This bond issue will fulfil the need to a considerable extent,"Bhatt said.

The bonds will be issued in two series--Series 1 and Series 2 having maturity of 10 years respectively, with a face value of Rs 10,000 each. These bonds are not redeemable at the option of the bondholder or without the prior consent of RBI.

The bonds are proposed to be listed on the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE).

The bonds will be open for subscription from October 18 and will close on October 25, with an option to close earlier in the event of over-subscription. The allocations of all categories will be made on first come first serve basis based on the date of applications.

The bonds will carry a coupon rate of 9.25 per cent per annum for series 1 and 9.50 per cent per annum for series 2 (both of lower Tier II bonds).

The bond issue will also help SBI"pre-empt"and assuage concerns arising out of the mismatch between long-term assets and liabilities on its balance-sheet, Bhatt said, adding the issue had also featured in the Basel III negotiations and has the potential to become a big issue going forward.

Currently, nearly 50 per cent of SBI's deposits are the cheap CASA while of the balance, nearly 90 per cent, comprises term deposits of under one-year tenor, he said.

"The bonds are to pre-empt any such concerns and we get long funds as they are having a maturity of 10-12-years,"he said.

New Delhi, Oct 18, 2010(PTI) Vedanta group company Sesa Goa today reported an over two-fold jump in profit at Rs 384.94 crore for the second quarter of the current fiscal.

The country's largest iron ore exporter, Sesa Goa, had posted a net profit of 166.46 crore in the second quarter of the last fiscal.

"During Q2, iron ore production was stable at 3.2 million tonnes while sales increased by 25 per cent to 2 million tonnes compared with the corresponding prior quarter,"the company said in its statement.

Total income jumped by 70 per cent to Rs 918.34 crore during the period under review against Rs 534.11 crore in the year-ago period.

Mumbai, Oct 17, 2010(PTI) State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has kicked off over Rs 8,800-crore redevelopment of the southern part of its Mumbai High fields, using a cost effective technology to maintain output from the prime western offshore fields.

"The Mumbai High South redevelopment Phase-II project will cost Rs 8,813.41 crore,"a company official said.

The giant Mumbai High oil and gas field remains a challenge since its discovery in 1974. In its chequered production profile, the field hit a peak of 400,000 barrels per day before falling to current levels of 210,000 bpd, causing concerns in reservoir management.

"ONGC has decisively initiated schemes to maintain production from this field", he said, adding the complex reservoir has thin oil bearing zones, as slim as 3 metres, with a highly heterogeneous flow capacity of rock, varying in thickness.

The present scheme envisages incremental gain of 18.31 million tonnes of oil and 2.70 billion cubic meters of gas through drilling of 75 new wells and intervention in existing wells. The work includes enhancement of oil and gas processing capacity through installation of one process platform bridge connected to the existing ICP platform and installation of four new well head platforms.

"The latest platform, RS12 is a special innovation, first for ONGC and India, in the sense that this is a 16-slot platform rather than a conventional 9-slot or 12-slot platform,"the official said. This means as many as 16 wells can be drilled from this platform."Eleven wells are planned for drilling in the current phase of development,"he said.

As opposed to conventional facilities for docking of drilling rigs for drilling wells, the platform is designed to accommodate the drilling rig on board.

The soil testing data of the platform location indicated that this part of Mumbai High field was likely to be'punch through'and not hard enough to bear the load of a conventional jack-up rig."The rig mounted 16-slot platform option chosen by ONGC has provided a cost-effective solution to development drilling and a technically feasible solution to the'punch through'problem,"he said.

The platform mounted rig technology has provided the opportunity of drilling wells, using modular rigs that are cheaper than conventional jack-up drilling rigs, at a cost of USD 169 million. NPCC of Abu Dhabi is installing the platform and scheduling completion by April 2011.

"Intervention in the wells in future can also be done by modular work-over rigs. This is expected to be particularly cost effective as the wells are planned to be ultimately put on production using electric submersible pumps (ESPs) for pumping out the oil from the bottom of the wells rather than using gas-lift for lifting and since the ESPs may need more frequent rig intervention for servicing, the cheaper platform mounted modular rig option will be available,"he said.

The expected peak production of 12,000 barrels from RS12 will begin in 2012."The challenge of proper placement of long horizontal drainholes in oil bearing zones of 3 to 5 meter thickness at depth of over 1,400 meter is being met through use of such tools and technologies,"the official said.

New Delhi, Oct 17, 2010(PTI) Twilight Litaka Pharma (TLPL) today said it has entered into an agreement with South Africa- based Interpro Healthcare for distribution and marketing of its products in the African country.

"Twilight Litaka Pharma Limited . Has entered into an agreement with Interpro Healthcare Ltd, a South African pharmaceutical company, for technical support and exclusive supply of Twilight's products to the South African market,"the company said in a release.

As per the agreement, Interpro Healthcare would exclusively market and distribute Twilight's range of products in South Africa.

"The agreement will enable TLPL to foray into the lucrative South African market with its wide range of pharmaceutical and nutraceutical formulations,"the Mumbai-based company said.

"The company feels this will give a major boost to its growing International business operations, which today are spread over 40 countries,"Twilight Litaka MD Gopal Ramourti said.

TLPL's share closed at Rs 181.20 on Friday at the Bombay Stock Exchange.

New Delhi, Oct 17, 2010(PTI) As part of its mega expansion programme, state-owned Hindustan Copper is set to reopen another closed copper mine in Jharkhand, with estimated coal reserves of about 34 million tonnes.

As part of its plans to ramp up its annual production capacity to 12.5 million tonnes from 3.15 million tonnes in the next 5-7 years, the company has outlined a new growth strategy, which includes reopening of closed mines.

According to the company's website,"Hindustan Copper proposes to engage reputed contractors for reopening, operation and expansion of Rakha mine (East Singhbhum, Jharkhand)."Post-opening the company plans to mine 1.5 million tonnes of copper ore per annum.

The development follows a similar plan of the company to reopen closed Kendadih copper mine in the state. Both the moves towards resuming mining operations come ahead of it's 20 per cent share sale programme slated for November-December, which is expected to raise Rs 4,000 crore.

Mining operations in Rakha were suspended in July 2001, after it was waterlogged and the company has invited expression of interest from interested parties, the bids for which would be closed on November 30.

The commissioning of the Rakha mines is expected in the next few years while the entire Rs 4,500 crore expansion programme to take its production to 12.5 MTPA from 315 MTPA is likely to be completed by 2017.

Under the expansion plans, the company will increase the capacity of Malanjkhand mine in Balaghat district of Madhya Pradesh from 2MTPA to 5 MTPA and Khetri copper complex in Rajasthan from 1 MTPA to 3 MTPA.

The PSU also plans development of new mines besides re-opening of closed mines at Singhbhum copper belt, Ghatsila in Jharkhand to produce 3.7 MTPA copper

It has also invited bids for prospecting of the Baniwali-Ki-Dhani (copper) mine in Sikar district of Rajasthan, for which it was recently granted such licence.

The company is also eyeing copper assets in countries like Chile and Namibia, Afghanistan, besides forging alliance with another mining PSU Nalco.

It filed the draft prospectus for 20 per cent share sale, through which the government is selling 10 per cent stake, while the company would issue fresh equity in the same proportion.

At present, 0.41 per cent of HCL stake is with the public. The proposed FPO will see the government's stake coming down from 99.59 per cent at present to 81.45 per cent

Mumbai, Oct 17, 2010(PTI) The Indian animation market, estimated at USD 494 million in 2008, will likely grow at compounded annual growth rate of 22 per cent till 2012, an industry official has said.

"Globally, the animation industry is poised to touch USD 100 billion by 2012 and India's animation industry is expected to hit USD 1 billion by 2012, aided by increased outsourcing and a growing domestic market,"Maya Academy of Advanced Cinematics (MAAC) Business head, Ram Kumar Worrier said here.

Maya Academy of Advanced Cinematics (MAAC) is the leader in high-end 3D Animation&VFX education in India and is engaged in the making of most awaited 3D animation film?Ramayana ­The Epic?.

"Animation in India is on the right track. There is a lot of interest in it, and therefore a lot of uptake in the sector,"MAAC's Founder Ketan Mehta said.

"Our biggest advantage is the technical expertise, robust telecom infrastructure and English-speaking graphic designers and animators who with relevant training can be quickly made ready for the industry, at costs lower than those prevailing in developed markets,"he added.

Chennai, Oct 18, 2010(PTI) Pune-based BIG Animation has formed a joint venture with Accel Animation, a division of Accel Transmatic Ltd to produce the popular television programme'Shaktimaan'in animation for television broadcasting.

Top officials of BIG Animation, including its CEO Ashish S Kulkarni and Accel Animation studios Chairman N R Panicker exchanged the relevant documents here today.

An MoU was signed to recreate the series in animation, which has already existed for over 10 years as a popular live action programme.

As per the JV, the programme would be co-financed and produced by BIG Animation and Accel Animation, respectively.

This is the first initiative of its kind in India where two Indian studios are coming together and I just hope that this deal between BIG Animation and Accel will open the doors for many more Indian studios to leverage on each others capabilities for developing properties with shared responsibilities.", BIG Animation CEO Ashish S Kulkarni said.

"We are confident that'Shaktimaan'would turn out as a landmark production that would create a quality benchmark for Indian properties in digital 2D for broadcasting, he added.

BIG Animation has roped in Jeffrey Scott to write the scripts for the animation programme.

"The International market for Indian Animation is just opening up and such collaborations will help us to leverage on each other?s strengths to produce world class properties. Shaktimaan has been a very successful property and we believe that Shaktimaan in Animated format will be even more popular", Accel Animation Chairman N R Panicker said.

New Delhi, Oct 18, 2010(PTI) India is likely to raise its voice against protectionism and call for coordinated policy on exit from stimulus at G-20 finance ministers and central bank governors two-day meeting in South Korea beginning on October 22.

Ahead of the G-20 gathering, a high-level meeting of Finance Ministry and RBI officials today chalked out an agenda for India. Besides finance ministry officials, RBI deputy governor Subir Gokarn attended the meeting.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee will lead the Indian delegation for the G-20 meeting at Gyeongju in Sough Korea. The meeting will be followed by G-20 Summit on November 11-12 which among others will be attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

G-20, which is a club of developed and emerging nations, has been playing the leadership role in helping the world come out of the financial crisis of 2008.

Besides calibrated withdrawal of stimulus which were provided by major countries to help their economies combat the impact of the global financial meltdown, the G-20 will also discuss the threat of protectionism.

Among other important items, the issue of currency.

War.

over revaluation of Chinese yuan is also likely to figure prominently at the G-20 deliberations.

While the US is insisting on appreciation of yuan in line with market value, the Chinese government is resisting the move at it would hurt its exports.

Besides, the Framework for Strong, Sustainable and Balanced Growth, which was adopted in the Pittsburgh Summit, would come up for detailed deliberations at the meeting.

Earlier, commenting on the G-20 meeting Mukherjee had said that the conclave would discuss various current problems besides analysing the present global scenario.

New Delhi, Oct 18, 2010(PTI) Adobe Systems India today launched a new range of its Acrobat software, aimed at helping enterprises create higher-quality content and drive collaboration and productivity.

Adobe offers various software solutions like Acrobat Reader, Photoshop, Illustrator, Portable Document Format (PDF), Shockwave Flash (SWF) and Flash Video (FLV).

"There is a greater need today for solutions that allow seamless collaboration in an open environment as companies work with their customers and partners in multiple time zones and languages,"Adobe Systems India Country Head (Sales) Sandeep Mehrotra told reporters here.

Acrobat X would allow companies and governments to create, share, make PDF files interactive, while leveraging security and authentication features, he added.

Mehrotra said the launch would help Adobe reinforce its position in verticals like government, education, financial services, manufacturing and IT/ITeS, among others.

The company will launch three products -- Acrobat X Standard, Acrobat X Pro and Acrobat X Suite.

While Acrobat X Standard is expected to be priced at about Rs 14,000, Acrobat X Pro and Acrobat X Suite are expected to be available for about Rs 22,000 and Rs 58,000, respectively.

Mumbai, Oct 21, 2010(PTI)

Gold prices are likely to touch USD 1,850 an ounce (28.35 grams) by the end of 2011, mostly as a hedge against economic uncertainty, a Barclays Capital analyst today said.

Gold was today trading at USD 1,346.70 an ounce in the international markets.

"The increasing amount of asset allocation and people waiting for a long time for the gold price to drop coupled with uncertainty will take the price to USD 1,850 an ounce level by the end of next year,"Barclays Capital Director Jonathan Spall told reporters here.

When asked if India will buy more gold, he said,"it is unlikely as the country has already bought 200 tonne from the International Monetary Fund for USD 6.7 billion in November 2009."

However, some Central Asian countries and sovereign wealth funds are actively looking to buy gold, he said without naming the countries or central banks.

Barclays Capital Managing Director Paul Horsnell said in base metals copper and tin will benefit due to severe supply constraints and the positive demand trends.

On energy, he said,"we are positive on oil prices, which is likely to average at USD 85 per barrel next year.

New Delhi, Oct 24, 2010(PTI) Telecom regulator Trai will examine a recent Department of Telecom (DoT) proposal to merge all 22 telecom circles in the country into a single service area, a move that could lead to the end of costly roaming charges for Indian mobile phone users, an official said today.

A senior Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) official said the regulator will look into the issue of merging all the telecom circles into one, but did not give a clear timeline within which Trai could come out with a consultation paper on the issue.

The government is considering the merger of the 22 telecom circles in the country into either a single service area or four separate zones to enable subscribers to move freely across states without paying extra charges for roaming.

As per the recommendations of a core team of the Telecom Ministry:"There could be either one service area covering the entire country, or there could be four zones each covering a particular region."

The core team was constituted by the Department of Telecom to give recommendations on strategic issues related to licencing matters.

Roaming services allow cellphone users to continuously make and receive calls while travelling outside the geographical constraints of their home network by using a visited network.

Carriers charge a higher rate for roaming. Fees for roaming are not standard and differ from operator to operator.

If implemented, the mobile users will not have to shell out extra money when they travel from one state to other. However, the operators will be hit hard if such a step is taken.

Operators had paid a huge premium for bagging 3G airwaves in certain circles, so if all the circles are merged, they stand to lose.

Jamshedpur, Oct 25, 2010(PTI) Tata Steel has been conferred the prestigious ASIA MAKE award for the seventh time for developing knowledge workers through senior management leadership.

Tata Steel bagged the first place among sixteen companies vying for the spot this year, a company press release today said.

Earlier, Tata Steel had been a recipient of the overall Asian MAKE winner title in 2008.

The ASIA MAKE 2010 award was received by Partha Sengupta, vice president (raw materials) of Tata Steel at the 11th World Knowledge Forum in Seoul, Korea recently.

The winners were recognised for'creating knowledge- driven organisational cultures'by this year's Asian MAKE study, the release added.

The 2010 Asian MAKE Winners were chosen by a panel of Asian Fortune Global 500 business executives and leading knowledge management and intellectual capital experts.