Nestle Milkmaid Creations – Powdered Dessert Mixes Sweet Market
If it has to be R&D, it has to come from a Multinational company. Nestle which has been in India for decades is now putting an effort to enter the niche Sweet market of India with Milkmaid Creations, a new range of powdered dessert mixes.
The product will target the convenience-seeking consumers besides offering an eggless cake (for India’s large vegetarian population).
The range includes five variants-eggless cake, ‘pista kulfi’, Read more
Why SBI profits Fell by 99% ?
India’s Largest Bank, the State Bank of India reported Q4FY11 PAT of Rs 209mn, 99% below consensus, primarily on lower NII, higher costs and provisions.
SBI has hiked lending rates by 100 bps (50 bps higher than other banks a catch-up rather than a proactive measure) in 1QFY2012 to offset some of the pressure in margins witnessed. The bank has now fully provided for pension liability of Rs117bn on account of wage hike Rs79 bn through reserves and Rs24.7 bn through profit and loss account during the Read more
Power Grid Corporation fixes FPO price band at Rs 85-90 per share
State-owned Power Grid Corporation of India has fixed price band for its proposed Follow-on Public Offer (FPO) at Rs 85-90 per share. A 5% discount will be available to retail investors and eligible employees at the issue price on allotment. The FPO worth around Rs 7,600 crore comprises of 84 crore equity shares of Rs 10 each representing 20% of existing paid-up capital of the PSU. Read more
RBI Monetary Policy Expectations
With Inflation showing no signs of abatement and corporate profits on the upswing, it is high time that RBI act as an independent regulator in the interest of Indian consumer and not South Block.
In the forthcoming announcement of monetary and credit policy on July 27, markets expect 25bps hike in both repo and reverse repo rates and no change in CRR. This expectation is based on the view that as the economy inches towards normalcy, policy rates also need to firm up to their long-term ‘steady-state’ level. Any more aggressive tightening is unwarranted at this juncture in analysts Read more
Will India End Subsidies to the Oil & Gas Sector ?
The EGoM (Empowered Group of Ministers), led by the Finance Minister, is slated to meet on June 7 to take a decision on fuel pricing. The key issues that are likely to be discussed and on which a decision could possibly be arrived at are: (i) retail price hikes for the four regulated fuels (petrol, diesel, LPG, kero), (ii) deregulation of fuel pricing, and (iii) transparent mechanism of sharing of the overall subsidy burden.
What will be the likely outcome of this meeting on June-7th ?
Petrol pricing is fully deregulated, (ii) diesel price is partially deregulated (till, say, a pre-determined crude level) and a definite Read more
How is Indian Sovereign Debt Different ?
Unlike the West, most of Indian Government Fiscal Deficit is financed by internal holdings. India is the only one emerging market amongst the high-government deficit countries in 2009 – India. And India, with a gross general government debt to GDP ratio of over 80 percent during 2009 (see IMF(2010)), is much better able to manage a more than 10 percent of GDP general government deficit, Read more
FICCI calls for reduction in luxury and service taxes on tourism
In order to enhance the country’s inbound tourism sector, industry body FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) has suggested a slew of measures. Foreign tourist arrival in 2009 was down by 3.3% to 5.11 million against 5.28 million in 2008 on the back of the Mumbai terror attack in November 2008 which caused a 15% decline in the number of inbound tourists.
It has suggested for a reduction in luxury Read more
Short-term Power tariffs Rise sharply in March
As per the data from Indian Energy Exchange, the short-term tariffs have increased 78% M-o-M to Rs5.77/unit in March 2010. The average merchant tariffs are at their highest level after almost six months (in August 2009, the average tariffs were Rs7.2/unit followed by a six months lull with prevailing average merchant tariff of ~Rs3.5/unit during September’09 – February’10).
The average tariffs in March’09 were more than Rs8/unit and hence, on a y-o-y basis; the March’10 average tariffs are 29% lower. Read more
Enterprise Wireline Tariffs to Come Down – Reliance Communication
In an analyst call, the management of Reliance Communications have said that Wireline / Landline Tariffs are under pressure as Wireless Tariffs have fallen significantly and the company si facing pressure especially from the Enterprise Segment.
Other highlights of the call are – Although RCOM’s RPM declined 4.6% in Q310, its EBITDA margin was down 156 bp; management mentioned this was due to continued investments in network and higher Read more
TVS Motor’s January sales up 34%
Chennai-based two-wheeler maker, TVS Motor Company has reported 34% jump in its January sales. The company sold total 125,578 two-wheelers during the month under review against 93,729 units in January 2009.
On domestic front, it has clocked 37% growth in January 2010 by registering sales of 109,504 units as compared to 79,729 units in the corresponding period of the previous year. Read more