Modi invites Indian-American business leaders to India

A stable business environment and investment in human resources are some of the issues highlighted by a group of Indian-American corporate leaders during a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi who invited them to come to India and teach business and entrepreneurship.

A stable business environment and investment in human resources are some of the issues highlighted by a group of Indian-American corporate leaders during a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi who invited them to come to India and teach business and entrepreneurship.

In the over one hour-long meeting at a hotel where Modi is staying, the distinguished Indian-Americans discussed with him ways to enhance their contribution in human resource development and research activities.

The group of around 10 top Indian-Americans including Chairman and CEO of Symphony Technology group Romesh Wadhwani, Cognizant CEO Francisco D'Souza, President and CEO of Adobe System Shantanu Narayen, President, University of President Houston Renu Khator, Harvard Business school Dean Nitin Nohria, CEO Harman International Inc Dinesh Paliwal, Corporate Vice President of Microsoft's Developer Division S Somasegar and President of Carneig Mellon University Subra Suresh.

Official sources said they were very upbeat about opportunities for growth in India and made various suggestions about possible avenues for consideration. They also spoke about usual requirements for stable business environment and need for investing in human resources in India.

Emphasising on his ambitious 'Make in India' as well as the 'My Govt Digital Platform' projects, Modi spoke about the importance he places on the digital initiatives and innovations as well as research.

He invited them to come to India and teach during their vacations.

Before he embarked on the US trip, Modi launched the 'Make in India' campaign rolling out a red carpet to industrialists, both domestic and international, inviting them to make India a manufacturing hub that will help boost jobs and growth.

The My Govt Digital Platform initiative was launched in July with an aim to help citizens contribute in governance by giving their opinions and views on important issues.

There are multiple theme-based discussions on 'MyGov' where a wide range of people can share their thoughts and ideas.

For those who wish to go beyond discussions and wish to contribute on the ground, MyGov offers several avenues to do so. Citizens can volunteer for various tasks and submit their entries.

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Watch: Modi addresses world leaders at UNGA

On his 5-day trip to New York, his first since taking charge as Prime Minister, Narendra Modi is expected to make his first address to the United Nations General Assembly today.  

His packed schedule includes 35 meetings - he will be meeting US President Barack Obama, leading industrialists and other prominent members of the Indian American community.  

The Prime Minister has already met the mayor of New York city earlier this morning, followed by a visit to the United States National Cancer Institute.  

Before addressing world leaders at the UNGA, PM Modi will also be paying his respects at the 9/11 Memorial. He will also conduct bilateral meetings with the leaders of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal.

On Sunday, Modi will address prominent Indian-Americans at the famous Madison Square Garden in New York.  

Ahead of his Madison Square Garden address, fans congregated at the spot, cheering for Modi, some claiming that they had been waiting for him ever since he was denied a visa. Organisers also claimed that even though 40,000 people had applied to attend Modi's address, tickets could only be given to 18,000.  

The Prime Minister Narendra Modi is currently staying at the iconic New York Palace Hotel. Modi's day is going to start with a trip to the museum that has been built on the 9/11 site here- a museum that was built in the memory of all those who had died when the 9/11 terrorist strikes had taken place here.  

Also when Modi starts addressing the UN General Assembly session, he is bound to talk about the security scenario which prevails globally. US President Barack Obama already said that the biggest threat to the international community is from the problem of Islamist extremism.  

Narendra Modi's speech is therefore, going to be looked at very carefully by all world leaders both on the security front as well as the economic front.  

The other important aspect of this meeting is the business of economics. On this trip Narendra Modi is going to try hard to sell the India story. Prominent American businessmen and industrialists opine that India is high on hope. India has assured a lot in the past but has never delivered. What is left to be seen is whether, Narendra Modi can do that since he is trying to position himself as the chief executive officer on this trip.

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Mahindra Quanto AMT to be launched in India by year-end

However, at the launch of the brand new Scorpio, we received word that Mahindra will be bringing in the Quanto with an AMT gearbox by the end of this year.

Among Mahindra 's many displays at the 12th Auto Expo earlier this year was the Quanto compact UV with an AMT (automated manual transmission) gearbox.

The car slipped into the sidelines, especially over the last two months that have been teeming with launches.

However, at the launch of the brand new Scorpio, we received word that Mahindra will be bringing in the Quanto with an AMT gearbox by the end of this year.

AMTs have been all the rage off late as they offer the benefit of an automatic experience but are much more cost effective for manufacturers. This means that the masses finally have the opportunity to experience clutchless driving.

M&M stock price

On September 29, 2014, at 11:12 hrs Mahindra and Mahindra was quoting at Rs 1377.70, down Rs 15.95, or 1.14 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 1421.00 and the 52-week low was Rs 815.50.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 59.61 per share as per the quarter ended June 2014. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 23.11. The latest book value of the company is Rs 270.60 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 5.09.

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Myra Vineyards: Making wine the new beer!

Watch investment banker turned winemaker Ajay Shetty raise to entrepreneurship with his venture Myra Vineyards.

Watch investment banker turned winemaker Ajay Shetty raise to entrepreneurship with his venture Myra Vineyards.

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Vizury: Bringing brands closer to online markets

On the Big League, Young Turks catch Bangalore-based big data analytics firm Vizury that has grown 25 times in the last two years and is not too far from an IPO.

On the Big League, Young Turks catch Bangalore-based big data analytics firm Vizury that has grown 25 times in the last two years and is not too far from an IPO.

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Kingfisher secures stay against UBI's wilful defaulter tag

KFA and its erstwhile directors had filed a writ in Calcutta HC against UBI and others, challenging the constitutional validity of the RBI master circular on wilful defaulters as well as the ex-parte decision of UBI's grievance redressal committee.

Kingfisher Airlines  announced that it has secured a stay from Calcutta High Court on the decision of the grievance redressal committee of the  United Bank of India which had earlier declared the airline and its directors as wilful defaulters.

UBI has been directed to file its affidavit-in-opposition by November 3 and the petitioners have been asked to file their reply one week thereafter. The next date of hearing is November 10, 2014.

Commenting on the stay granted by the court, Prakash Mirpuri, Vice President-Corporate Communications, Kingfisher Airlines, said: "We had earlier stated that we would legally challenge the wrongful decision of United Bank of India and that we have great faith in the judiciary in our country. We will legally defend our position on all allegations going forward." 

Kingfisher Airlines along with its erstwhile directors had filed a writ petition in Calcutta High Court against UBI and others, challenging the constitutional validity of the RBI master circular on wilful defaulters as well as challenging the ex-parte decision of UBI's grievance redressal committee.

The matter was listed for hearing on Friday (September 26) before Justice Debangsu Basak. After hearing counsel for the petitioners and the bank, Justice Basak passed an order in which he held that, prima facie, the bank acted in breach of the principles of natural justice by not making over the documents referred to and relied upon by it to KFA prior to the hearing. Thus, not enabling KFA to make an effective representation against the charges/allegations made against them in relation to being declared wilful defaulters.

Kingfisher Air stock price

On September 26, 2014, Kingfisher Airlines closed at Rs 1.87, up Rs 0.06, or 3.31 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 6.84 and the 52-week low was Rs 1.72.

The latest book value of the company is Rs -166.59 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was -0.01.

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Corporate Governance: Shareholder activism on rise

Corporate governance in India Inc has been improving over the last few years. And experts say an increase in shareholder activism has been a key factor. CNBC-TV18's Sajeet Manghat and Kritika Saxena share the details of the latest world rankings compiled by the Asian Corporate Governance Association.

The rise in instances of shareholder activism in India has not gone unnoticed.  According to the latest report by the Asian Corporate Governance Association, this rise has been instrumental in pushing India's corporate governance score to 54 percent, from 51 percent 2 years ago.

Even though India continues to rank 7th among the 11 countries covered in the report, the ACGA notes that going purely by individual country scores, most Asian countries have shown a marked improvement in governance standards.

India's score has also been helped by the regulations in the new Companies Act 2013, including better regulations for board resolutions, rotation of auditors, shareholder e-voting and minority approval for board resolutions.

However, the report says risk factors include slow enforcement of regulations, the delay in IFRS convergence, potential conflicts of interest for controlling shareholders and the lack of board independence.

The report also says that the biggest change seen over the last couple of years is the greater role of proxy firms in shaping the corporate landscape, thanks to growing acceptance by institutional investors. But of course, the rise in overall score would not be possible without Indian companies moving towards better disclosure and governance practices, and efforts to de-leverage.

Leading the race in these areas are Tata Motors, Hindalco and Tata Steel, all of which have see a rise in scores. But the report also shows that companies like ACC, Ambuja, Infosys and Cadila have actually scored lower over the last two years.

As it points out, corporate governance standards for MNCs have declined. This is attributed to rising interference by parent companies through increasing royalties and M&As.

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USFDA bans two Indian plants on GMP violations

The USFDA has served import alerts to Canadian drug company Apotex Research's manufacturing facility in Bangalore and Indian firm Micro Labs manufacturing unit in Goa. For both the drug companies, this is their second Indian facility being banned by USFDA.

The spate of import ban on Indian manufacturing units by the USFDA is not stopping. While Sun Pharma may be heaving a sigh of relief as a Credit Suisse report notes that US FDA's Form 483 on Halol plant does not list any observations on data integrity, the US drug regulator has booked two other drug companies for lapses in data integrity and violations of GMP norms, reports CNBC TV18.

The USFDA has served import alerts to Canadian drug company Apotex Research's manufacturing facility in Bangalore and Indian firm Micro Labs manufacturing unit in Goa. For both the drug companies, this is their second Indian facility being banned by USFDA.

Apotex Pharmachem, the other unit of Apotex in Bangalore was banned by USFDA in April 2014, where the USFDA had said the company reported fraudulent data for years. Micro Labs' manufacturing unit in Bangalore was earlier banned in Aug 2013.

Import alert would mean products manufactured at these sites will not be allowed to enter the United States and the firms will not be able to make any generic drug applications from these sites.

The details on the warning letters given to these two companies for the latest import ban have yet not being released by the USFDA. Sources say issues similar to that of its other banned facility were reported here too.

These import alerts bring the spotlight back on the issues of data integrity at Indian manufacturing units and adds to the growing list of facilities being pulled up for these lapses.

Since 2013 USFDA has banned 27 Indian units for violations. This year till now, USFDA has already crackdown on 7 manufacturing units, the big name in the list being Sun Pharma 's Kharkadi plant in Gujarat. 2013 has seen a series of import alerts being served to 20 non-conforming units and involved bigwigs like Ranbaxy , Wockhardt .

And one consistent problem that USFDA has been finding at almost all of the units is that of data integrity, where USFDA has found instances of faking data, incomplete records, retesting to match results. Experts say there is a need for Indian manufacturers to keenly resolve these issues as even other regulators are likely to take a closer look at data integrity, besides GMP, in future.

Ranbaxy Labs stock price

On September 26, 2014, Ranbaxy Laboratories closed at Rs 602.90, up Rs 29.35, or 5.12 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 667.30 and the 52-week low was Rs 306.05.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 9.78 per share as per the quarter ended June 2014. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 61.65. The latest book value of the company is Rs 25.87 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 23.30.

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SP raises outlook of 11 FIs;maintains -ve for Syndicate Bk

The ratings on Syndicate continue to reflect the 'very high' likelihood of government support for the bank and the bank's average domestic business franchise and satisfactory funding and liquidity position.

Standard and Poor's today warned that it could downgrade rating of crisis ridden  Syndicate Bank if itd asset quality deteriorates. The global rating agency has issued a similar warning for  Indian Overseas Bank (IOB). While it has maintained its negative outlook on these two banks, the agnecy raised the rating outlooks on 11 Indian banks and financial institutions to stable from negative.

These include, Bank of India, HDFC Bank , ICICI Bank , IDBI Bank , Indian Bank , IDFC, Kotak Mahindra Bank , Kotak Mahindra Prime,  State Bank of India and Union Bank of India . "The negative rating outlooks on Syndicate and IOB reflect a possible weakening in these banks' asset quality and capitalisation," the agnecy said.

S&P said it could downgrade Syndicate if the bank's asset quality deteriorates to below industry average levels or if the pre- diversification risk-adjusted capital (RAC) ratio falls below 5 percent, which may happen if the bank grows aggressively and is unable to support growth with sufficient capital infusion.

"We could revise the outlook to stable if Syndicate can sustain its asset quality in line with industry levels," it however added. The ratings on Syndicate continue to reflect the 'very high' likelihood of government support for the bank and the bank's average domestic business franchise and satisfactory funding and liquidity position.

Syndicate's low earnings diversity and moderate capitalisation temper the ratings. In August, Syndicate Bank Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) S K Jain was arrested for allegedly receiving a bribe of Rs 50 lakh to enhance credit limits of Bhushan Steel and Prakash Industries. His service was terminated. Referring to IOB, the agency said it could downgrade IOB if the bank is unable to raise sufficient capital to support growth, such that its RAC ratio dips below 5 percent.

Syndicate Bank stock price

On September 26, 2014, Syndicate Bank closed at Rs 113.95, up Rs 6.55, or 6.10 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 179.10 and the 52-week low was Rs 66.00.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 27.93 per share as per the quarter ended June 2014. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 4.08. The latest book value of the company is Rs 189.63 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 0.60.

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Coal deallocation won't impact Barmer plant: JSW Energy

Pramod Menon, chief financial officer, JSW Energy adds that JP Power hasn't had any talks with the company over JP Power's 1,200 MW Karcham Wangtoo project.

Pramod Menon, director- Finance,  JSW Energy says the Supreme Court's decision to deallocate 204 coal blocks does not cover lignite mines.

As a result of this, the company's 1080 megawatt (MW) power plant at Barmer is unaffected.

Also read: Is SC's 'breathing time' for cos to point fingers at UPA?

Furthermore, Menon says the company is looking at various power assets for growth opportunities and is open to acquire a plant if it is a strategic fit.

However, he adds that the management of  JP Power hasn't had any talks with the company over JP Power's 1,200 MW Karcham Wangtoo project.

Transcript to follow soon.

JSW Energy stock price

On September 25, 2014, at 11:10 hrs JSW Energy was quoting at Rs 73.40, down Rs 3.6, or 4.68 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 86.85 and the 52-week low was Rs 42.00.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 4.11 per share as per the quarter ended June 2014. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 17.86. The latest book value of the company is Rs 42.70 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 1.72.

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May look at bidding for coal blocks during re-auction: GMR

In a landmark judgement, the Supreme Court on Wednesday cancelled allocation of 204 coal blocks allotted between 1993 and 2008. Of the total 218 blocks, 14 coal blocks, which are state-run non-joint ventures, have been spared.

The mines are allowed to run till March 31, 2015, up until the government readies the framework for auction. Moreover, the companies will have to pay penalty at Rs 295 per tonne for all the coal mined to that date.

Discussing the verdict, Madhu Terdal, Group CFO, GMR Infra , which has also seen cancellation of few mines, said the company would not get impacted by the SC order. He said the company would have taken another 5 years to extract coal from Rampia mines in Odisha, allotted to it.

Moreover, the company has already been given a tapering coal linkage for plants for the next five years till 2020. He says the company may look at bidding for coal blocks once the government starts re-auctioning process.

Prasad Baji, Senior VP, Institutional Equities - Research at Edelweiss Financial Services, says companies like Prakash Industries and Monnet Ispat may also get hit by the SC verdict.

Edelweiss has a target price of Rs 360 per share on Coal India , which does not include the benefits of new coal blocks. He feels opening up of coal sector to merchant miners is a long-term goal.

Below is the transcript of Madhu Terdal and Prasad Baji's interview with Latha Venkatesh & Sonia Shenoy on CNBC-TV18.

Sonia: Tell us about the impact that the Supreme Court ruling would have on GMR Infrastructure because two or three of your mines have been cancelled. What is the kind of damage that you see and how much would you have to pay to regain these blocks in the auction process, if there is any ballpark estimate on numbers that you have been working on?

Terdal: First of all let me clarify that GMR is not at all impacted by this order. There were certain coal blocks which were allotted to some of the operators have been cancelled. GMR got allotted a mine called Rampia in Odisha and that coal mine was given to six people jointly, along with us it was given to Arcelor-Mittal, Reliance, Lanco and others. All these people had different strategic plans, for example Arcelor-Mittal cancelled their plans for India and they did not use the coal mines. 

Therefore, in our view we would have taken another five years minimum to expect coal from this coal mines and looking at the way land acquisition policies are there, the difficulties in the state of Odisha, I think it is better handled by the Government of India rather than private company like ours. So we are not impacted by the cancellation of coal blocks and indeed instead of that we have already been given a tapering coal linkage for the next five year – that is till 2020, already the problem in the coal mine was anticipated and government has already given us a tapering coal linkage for 2020.

Latha: When will you next need coal and have you got all the coal through FSA for that period?

Terdal: Yes we have been given full coal. We are getting from the current coal mines which are given to us by Coal India. We have got a firm coal linkage for 500 megawatt; that is already in operation. For the balance of 550 megawatt we have been already given a tapering coal linkage. Wherever there is a shortfall we can import the coal from our own coal mines. So, that also is possible for us. 

Latha: Will you therefore bid when the existing 46 guys are put on the block?

Terdal: We haven't thought of that as a group. I will not be able to comment on that.

Latha: At least yes or no, not whether you will outbid the existing guys or anything but you would be interested because these are well prospected and running mines? 

Terdal: I think it makes sense without talking from the company's angle. I think it makes sense for us definitely to go for bidding.

GMR Infra stock price

On September 25, 2014, at 11:09 hrs GMR Infrastructure was quoting at Rs 19.00, down Rs 0.5, or 2.56 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 38.30 and the 52-week low was Rs 18.70.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 0.21 per share as per the quarter ended June 2014. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 90.48. The latest book value of the company is Rs 16.76 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 1.13.

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While in US, Modi must hard sell India: NR Murthy

Almost every developing country has to focus on export-oriented manufacturing to boost jobs, says NR Narayana Murthy, non-executive chairman of Infosys . And hence the government's top priority has to be to ease the process of investing in India.

He says the government must determine what factors will aid ease of doing business here. At the moment, India ranks low in ease of doing business. He says the government must make it easier for foreign institutions to invest in the country.

Also Read: PM's Make in India pitch to extend red carpet for investors

Murthy says prime minister Narendra Modi's visit to the United States is very important. He adds that Modi must try and explain to the US how Indian companies are adding value to their companies, creating jobs for Americans and also participating in corporate-social responsibility. "He (Modi) has to convince them about how Indian companies have become desirable for the US economy," he adds.

On Wednesday's coal price verdict, he questions what will happen to all those politicians who took those decisions, will they be held accountable. And if not, how can future politicians be stopped from taking such decisions (with wrong intentions, if at all).

Below is the verbatim transcript of NR Narayana Murthy's interview to CNBC-TV18's Latha Venkatesh and Sonia Shenoy

Sonia: We do have a lot of focus on the entire manufacturing sector by PM Narendra Modi in the last one month or so. What are the one-two things that you think needs to be done at this juncture to speed up that process?

A: Almost every developing country that has improved the prosperity of its people has invariably focused on export-oriented manufacturing to create jobs for the people in their country. So, therefore, the first priority of our government will have to be to make it easy for foreigners and of course our domestic investors to invest in the India. That is they have to say what is it that we can do to be in the top 10 in the world in terms of ease of business.

As you know we are very low in that index and then find out what are the factors that determine this index, ease of doing business. And then say where are we today in each of those and where is the tenth country in the world and what are the five things that we need to do so that in each of these dimensions or what are the three things that we need to do in each of these attributes so that we indeed get to the top 10 in terms of doing business.

That is the most important thing that we need to do. I don't think celebrating, holding meetings, all those things will help. What will help is whether we can make it easy for foreign investors as well as Indian investors to invest more and more in creating more jobs in India. That is the most important thing.

Latha: The PM is about to fly off to the US, what would you really have him extract from President Obama in terms of this big outsourcing threat to the IT sector itself?

A: I wrote an article, there I talked about how this visit is extremely important for our PM and for the country. It is very important for our PM who has a very charming personality to make friends with President Barack Obama as well as key legislatives in that country and explain how Indian companies are adding value to the American companies - to make them very competitive, not just in the US but in other markets too, explain how we are working to create more and more jobs for American citizens and American permanent residents, talk about how we are taking part in many corporate social responsibility activities. In other words, how Indian companies have become desirable for the US economy. That is something that he has to do.

The second important thing is we have to re-establish connection between the higher educational institutions and institutions of research in the US with similar institutions in India. These are two extremely important areas.

Stay tuned for more…

Infosys stock price

On September 25, 2014, at 11:10 hrs Infosys was quoting at Rs 3666.00, up Rs 16.60, or 0.45 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 3847.20 and the 52-week low was Rs 2894.00.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 185.71 per share as per the quarter ended June 2014. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 19.74. The latest book value of the company is Rs 733.03 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 5.00.

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SpiceJet launches scheme for MSME travellers

Under the platform, MSME executives can avail up to 10 percent discount and collect "Spice Points" upon each completed travel, among other benefits, the airline said in a release here this evening.

Budget airline  SpiceJet launched a scheme for travellers from micro, small and medium medium enterprises (MSME), offering them up to 10 percent discount on fares.

The private carrier unveiled what it claimed was first-of-its kind dedicated self-booking platform, 'SME Traveller', for air travellers for this corporate segment, offering flexibility and savings on every booking. Under the platform, MSME executives can avail up to 10 percent discount and collect "Spice Points" upon each completed travel, among other benefits, the airline said in a
release here this evening.

Spice Points enables the travellers to obtain further discounts on their future travel.

The product allows qualifying firms to manage their cost, schedule and overall travel requirements proactively. It also enables individual business travellers of the registered MSMEs to manage their own travel needs, it said. "SME Traveller is aimed at targeting nearly 70-100 million MSMEs in the country who contribute to 8 percent of the country's GDP besides contributing to 36 percent of the total value of exports.

"Therefore, we definitely see a business need to reach out to this section," SpiceJet Chief Commercial Officer Kaneswaran Avili.

SpiceJet stock price

On September 24, 2014, at 11:13 hrs SpiceJet was quoting at Rs 13.11, down Rs 0.19, or 1.43 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 23.05 and the 52-week low was Rs 11.10.

The latest book value of the company is Rs -19.67 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was -0.67.

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Ratan Tata bats for cheaper cars, low-cost manufacturing

Ratan Tata the chairman emeritus of Tata Sons today rooted for the idea of promoting low-cost manufacturing in the country. Tata received the GIL Visionary Leadership Award for life time achievement hosted by Frost and Sullivan.

Ratan Tata the chairman emeritus of Tata Sons today rooted for the idea of promoting low-cost manufacturing in the country. Today, Tata received the GIL Visionary Leadership Award for life time achievement hosted by Frost and Sullivan. Tata compared the size of the automobile markets of India and China where India is lagging behind to make his case for cheaper cars.

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To maintain 20-25% growth on sustainable basis: Kitex

The company witnessed 40 percent growth in the year gone by and Sabu Jacob, chairman and managing director of Kitex Garments says it came on the back of capacity expansion. It plans to double capacity over the next three years.

The third largest supplier of infant garments globally,  Kitex Garments derives 85 percent of revenue from sale of infant garments and 15 percent from fabric to Kitex Childrenwear.

The company aims to be the number one player in infant wear market over the next few years. It derives 100 percent of garment revenue from exports, with 90 percent coming from the US and the rest 10 percent from Europe.

The company witnessed 40 percent growth in the year gone by and Sabu Jacob, chairman and managing director of Kitex Garments says it came on the back of capacity expansion. It plans to double capacity over the next three years.

The company expects to maintain 20-25 percent growth on a sustainable basis going forward. Jacob expects to see rise in margins on account of better efficiencies. He expects to improve efficiencies on both automation (production) and labour front.

There are also plans to merge Kitex Garments and Kitex Childrenwear perhaps in FY16. Jacob says Kitex Childrenswear enjoys marginally higher capacity and its margin profile is similar to Kitex Garments.

The company is also hoping to register its own brand in the US by this year end.

Kitex Garments expect topline of Rs 550 crore in FY15 and Rs 750 crore in FY16.

Stay tuned for more..

Kitex Garments stock price

On September 24, 2014, at 11:09 hrs Kitex Garments was quoting at Rs 489.00, up Rs 7.30, or 1.52 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 526.40 and the 52-week low was Rs 56.65.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 12.39 per share as per the quarter ended June 2014. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 39.47. The latest book value of the company is Rs 36.67 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 13.34.

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Artha Tatwa scam: CBI arrests Odisha's ex-AG Ashok Mohanty

The former top law officer of the state was brought to CBI office on charges of allegedly misappropriating money from the Artha Tatwa, a ponzi company which allegedly duped investors of crores of rupees in the state.

Barely 10 days after he resigned, CBI Monday arrested Odisha's former Advocate General Ashok Mohanty for allegedly abusing his official position and misappropriating funds of Artha Tatwa Group of companies in a case which is an offshoot of Saradha chit fund scam.

After several rounds of questioning by the Special Investigating Unit formed by the CBI, Mohanty was picked up from his residence in Cuttack and informed that he had been placed under arrest.

After mandatory medical check up, the former top law officer of the state was brought to the CBI office on charges of allegedly misappropriating money from the Artha Tatwa, a ponzi company which allegedly duped investors of crores of rupees in the state.

"Truth will ultimately come out. God and Guru are my witnesses. As per my conscience, I have not committed any wrong," Mohanty told reporters while being taken inside CBI's state headquarters here.

Mohanty was interrogated by the CBI on September 13, a day after he resigned from the advocate general's post and had denied allegations that he got a house in Cuttack free of cost from Chairman-cum-Managing Directior of Artha Tatwa (AT) group Pradip Sethy.

The plot of Cuttack Development Authority believed to be worth over a crore of rupees was given to Mohanty allegedly without making any payment, the CBI claimed. The charge was, however, denied by Mohanty who said he had paid Rs 1.01 crore through cheques issued against his bank account in SBI.

During the probe, CBI claimed to have found that on October 5, 2012 Sethy sought No Objection Certificate (NOC) to sell his plot further.

The NOC was received and within 20 days it was sold to Mohanty allegedly without any payment being made against it, the CBI alleged and claimed that Mohanty helped the group in escaping any action by state authorities.

The former advocate general also claimed to have shown bank documents to CBI officials in regard to payment.

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To kick-start banking operations by Oct 1, 2015: IDFC

The non-banking financial company has no plans to raise further money in near-term, says Vikram Limaye after IDFC raised Rs 1,000 crore recently.

Infrastructure lender  IDFC recently raised Rs 1000 crore through qualified institutional placement (QIP) after selling 7.3 crore shares for Rs 137 each.

The non-banking financial company sold the shares in order to bring down foreign institutional investors holding (FII) to under 50 percent, as stated by the Reserve Bank of India guidelines. 

Speaking to CNBC-TV18 on the expectations going ahead, MD and CEO, Vikram Limaye says the company has no plans to raise further money in near-term.

According to Limaye, the funds raised by them were not raised for company's capital needs. The NBFC is likely to start its banking operations from October 1, 2015 under 'IDFC Bank'. The new bank will be a subsidiary of IDFC, confirms Limaye.

IDFC believes the loan book growth will continue to slow. 

Meanwhile, the management refrained from giving any comments on the appointments for the new bank.

IDFC stock price

On September 23, 2014, at 11:10 hrs IDFC was quoting at Rs 144.05, down Rs 0.6, or 0.41 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 166.70 and the 52-week low was Rs 86.35.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 10.78 per share as per the quarter ended June 2014. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 13.36. The latest book value of the company is Rs 96.96 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 1.49.

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Iron ore imports to rise; see 30 MT deficit: JSW Steel

Despite fall in iron ore and coking coal prices globally, the same trend is not seen in India, says Seshagiri Rao, joint MD and group CFO, JSW Steel.

International iron ore and coking coal prices have seen a fall in recent times and  JSW Steel is expected to benefit from the same. But Seshagiri Rao, joint MD and group CFO, JSW Steel says the same trend is not seen in India due to shortage of iron ore. He believes domestic iron ore production is likely to see a deficit of 30 million tonne this year.

He feels the company will have to increase iron ore import from 6 million tonne to 10 million tonne.

Also Read: To kick-start banking operations by Oct 1, 2015: IDFC

JSW Steel has a sales volume target at 12.4 MT for FY15.

Rao says the company is following a strategy of backward and forward integration and keeps scouting the market for such opportunities. Luchini is one such opportunity and JSW Steel has bid for its rolling plant.

Below is the verbatim transcript of Seshagiri Rao's interview with Latha Venkatesh & Sonia Shenoy on CNBC-TV18.

Sonia: Iron ore prices globally have hit a new five year low. It is below USD 80 and coking coal cost as well has fallen. How much of this fall in commodity prices will impact a company like JSW Steel?

A: Internationally the prices of both iron ore and coal have come down in the last few months. However, in India unfortunately the same trend is not been shown in the prices of particularly the iron ore due to shortage of iron ore in India. So overall production side iron ore in India in this year is expected to be lower at least by 30 million tonne due to which India has to import iron ore in this year. So to that extent of imports into India, JSW Steel stands to gain.

We have planned initially that every month we import 0.5 million tonne – that is 6 million tonne in this year. However, after having seen severe shortages in India and unreasonable prices in the Indian market, we are now increasing our import of iron ore into India. We are increasing from 6 million tonne to 10 million tonne is what we are planning to do in this year.

Stay tuned for more…

JSW Steel stock price

On September 23, 2014, at 11:10 hrs JSW Steel was quoting at Rs 1252.80, up Rs 2.70, or 0.22 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 1365.35 and the 52-week low was Rs 696.00.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 97.49 per share as per the quarter ended June 2014. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 12.85. The latest book value of the company is Rs 970.48 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 1.29.

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Siemens to buy Dresser-Rand in a $7.6 bn deal

Industrial conglomerate Siemens AG said on Monday it would buy US oilfield equipment maker Dresser-Rand Group Inc for USD 7.6 billion in a move that would significantly boost the German company's oil and gas business in North America.

Germany's Siemens said its USD 83 per-share bid was unanimously supported by Dresser-Rand's board of directors. That compares with a Friday closing price of USD 79.91, which was up 27 percent over the past three months on takeover speculation.

Within minutes of that statement, it also announced the sale of its 50 percent stake in BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeraete GmbH to joint venture partner Robert Bosch GmbH for 3 billion euros (USD 3.85 billion), ending their more than 45 year alliance in household appliances.

"As the premium brand in the global energy infrastructure markets, Dresser-Rand is a perfect fit for the Siemens portfolio. The combined activities will create a world-class provider for the growing oil and gas markets," Siemens Chief Executive Joe Kaeser said in a statement on Monday.

Reuters reported on Sunday that the companies were nearing a deal.

The German industrial conglomerate had long coveted Dresser-Rand, which would help it grow its oil and gas business at a time when a North American fracking boom is boosting demand for energy equipment.

But it shrank in the past from making a formal bid, balking at its high valuation. Dresser-Rand trades at 24.6 times 12 month forward earnings, a 60 percent premium to its peers in oil and gas equipment and services, according to Reuters data.

CEO Kaeser said in July the company planned to focus on restructuring rather than acquisitions for the moment, but would have the financial firepower for the right acquisition target. Cash reserves stood at 8.21 billion euros at the end of June.

Siemens is targeting more than 150 million euros in annual synergies by 2019 from the transaction, which complements Siemens's market position in turbo compressors, downstream and industrial applications as well as larger-sized steam turbines.

Siemens expects to close the Dresser-Rand deal by summer 2015, while it aims to wrap up the sale of its stake in household appliance venture BSH with Bosch in first half of 2015.

BSH will pay out 250 million euros to each of its owners Bosch and Siemens before the transaction is completed.

Siemens has trumped a competing offer for Dresser-Rand from Swiss pump maker Sulzer AG, which had proposed an all-stock merger, according to people familiar with the matter.

Sulzer's chairman is former Siemens CEO Peter Loescher, who Kaeser replaced in a boardroom coup last year.

But other rival bidders may be lurking. General Electric was considering whether to make a bid, the Financial Times cited people familiar with the matter as saying on Friday. (http://on.ft.com/1tzUwLM)

Any GE involvement would mean their archrivalry picking up steam again. Siemens lost out to GE in a fierce bidding tussle over Alstom's energy business in June.

The Dresser-Rand deal would eclipse Siemens acquisitions over recent year. Siemens bought Dade Behring for $7 billion under Kaeser's predecessor Loescher in 2007, in a deal that was widely criticised as overpriced.

Siemens filled another gap in its energy equipment portfolio earlier this year, buying small gas-turbine assets from Rolls-Royce for 950 million euros. CEO Kaeser indicated at the time that expansion in the United States was next on the agenda.

(1 USD = 0.7784 euro)

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See 25% growth in exports this fiscal: Mayur Uniquoters

Suresh Kumar Poddar sees 25 percent growth in exports this fiscal year. The company saw sustained operational performance aided by rising share of exports.

Artificial leather maker  Mayur Uniquoters expects to see a 15-20 percent growth this fiscal year. The company is adding two new units to production in the second half of FY15, says CMD and CEO Suresh Kumar Poddar.

He sees 25 percent growth in the exports segment this fiscal, while adding that margins are better in exports than domestic segment. The company saw sustained operational performance aided by rising share of exports.

As of now, 50 percent of the company's total turnover comes from the footwear industry, followed by automotive at 35 percent and lastly leather goods, furnishing, bags, etc., contribute 15 percent.

Poddar sees FY15 capex at around Rs 70 crore.

Mayur Uniquoters' sixth production line will be operational by December 2014.

Stay tuned for more…

Mayur Uniquoter stock price

On September 22, 2014, at 11:12 hrs Mayur Uniquoters was quoting at Rs 464.80, up Rs 10.70, or 2.36 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 642.00 and the 52-week low was Rs 110.75.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 13.92 per share as per the quarter ended June 2014. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 33.39. The latest book value of the company is Rs 27.36 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 16.99.

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India can see $100bn worth e-comm co in 10-20 yrs: Snapdeal

Rohit Bansal, chief executive officer, Snapdeal.com says the Alibaba IPO validates the belief in emerging markets and the fact that online retailers don't need to own inventory to be successful.

Alibaba IPO that began trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Friday saw a stellar opening . The stock opened trade at USD 92.70 per share and rallied upto 38 percent in a single day.

The e-commerce company's  strong trading took many by surprise, but is also the reason for Indian online retailers' cheer.

Rohit Bansal, chief executive officer, Snapdeal.com says this IPO validates the belief in emerging market and the fact that online retailers don't need to own inventory to be successful.

Also Read: Alibaba in talks with Snapdeal to enter India: Report

"The response to Alibaba IPO gives confidence to company like ours, but the conventional way of valuations may not work for e-commerce sites as their growth is more than 50 percent at a time when other companies report below 15-20 percent growth," adds Bansal.

Adding to Bansal's optimism is Henry Guo, senior research analyst, JG Capital who says such companies have huge potential as India continues to see mobile penetration in widespread areas.

Also Read: Why e-commerce is taking India by a storm

This potential, Bansal expects, is to the tune of a USD 60-70 billion Indian e-commerce market.

"There is no reason to believe that in 10-20 years e-commerce in India will be anything less than 10 percent of retail. By that time retail in itself will be a trillion dollar market. So there is absolutely a 100 percent possibility of creating a USD 100 billion e-commerce company out of India," he further adds.

Transcript to follow soon.

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Hike: India's very own messaging app

Catch Kavin Bharti Mittal, founder of India's very own messaging app, Hike messenger in an exclusive chat.

Catch Kavin Bharti Mittal, founder of India's very own messaging app, Hike messenger in an exclusive chat.

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PollAfrique: An online market research in Africa

Young Turks International takes you straight to Ghana and brings the story of Samuel Kweku-Bio Dzidzornu who is bridging the gap between researchers and respondents in Africa with his venture PollAfrique.

Young Turks International takes you straight to Ghana and brings the story of Samuel Kweku-Bio Dzidzornu who is bridging the gap between researchers and respondents in Africa with his venture PollAfrique.

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SILA: Facility project mgmt services provider for realty

Watch brothers Sahil and Rushabh Vora who decided to move from high flying careers in investment banking to starting up a facility and project management venture for the realty sector – SILA.

Watch brothers Sahil and Rushabh Vora who decided to move from high flying careers in investment banking to starting up a facility and project management venture for the realty sector – SILA.

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Vijay Mallya shouldn't continue on USL board: IiAS

Kingfisher Airlines and directors declared as wilful defaulters would not be able to borrow from banks in the future. They would also lose director-level positions in companies and criminal proceeding could be initiated against them, if warranted, to recover the money.

The continuation of Vijay Mallya, who has been declared a 'wilful defaulter', on United Spirits board would constrain the company from raising debt in the country, according to proxy advisory firm IiAS. The firm has advised  United Spirits Ltd's (USL) shareholders to vote against the proposal to re-appoint Mallya as director on the board. Earlier this month,  United Bank of India had declared Kingfisher Airlines, its promoter Vijay Mallya and three other directors as wilful defaulter citing alleged diversion of funds.

Also Read: BSE,NSE to shift 2 UB group cos to restricted trade segment

Kingfisher Airlines  and directors declared as wilful defaulters would not be able to borrow from banks in the future. They would also lose director-level positions in companies and criminal proceeding could be initiated against them, if warranted, to recover the money. "... until this matter (regarding wilful defaulter) is resolved, Vijay Mallya continuing on the board will constrain USL's ability to raise debt from the Indian financial system," IiAS (Institutional Investor Advisory Services) said in a report.

USL is a Diageo subsidiary and can access funds support from its parent company. However, this is not an optimum way of doing business, it added. The annual general meeting of USL is scheduled for September 30.

United Bank stock price

On September 19, 2014, United Bank of India closed at Rs 45.65, up Rs 0.10, or 0.22 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 61.65 and the 52-week low was Rs 23.40.

The latest book value of the company is Rs 64.81 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was 0.70.

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Tech Mahindra aims to clock USD 5 billion revenues by FY17

The company crossed USD 3 billion in revenues by the end of 2013-14 (from USD 2.6 billion in 2012-13) with nearly USD 500 million profit after tax.

Tech Mahindra , India's fifth largest software services exporter, is on track to become a USD 5 billion dollar company by fiscal 2017, a top company executive said today.

"So far as the business is concerned, it is good. Outlook is positive. It is not only for us, it is for the industry also. That's a good sign. Let's hope (we achieve USD 5 billion revenue goal). By the grace of God... we should be heading to that number. By 2016-17, there is a possibility that we will achieve our stated objective," Tech Mahindra Executive Vice-Chairman Vineet Nayyar told reporters on the margins of an event.

The company crossed USD 3 billion in revenues by the end of 2013-14 (from USD 2.6 billion in 2012-13) with nearly USD 500 million profit after tax.

On the current deal pipeline, he said the infotech major bagged large contracts which helped it clock USD 3 billion revenues last fiscal. "We have been doing big deals. To reach USD 3 billion (in FY14) was not easy. Reaching USD 4 billion or USD 5 billion will be tough. But let's see we will achieve."

Nayyar was there to participate in an industry-academia interface programme organised at an engineering institute established by Mahindra Group and Ecole Centrale of Paris.

Asked about the cases filed against the company for the acts committed by promoters of scam-hit Satyam Computer prior to its acquisition by Tech Mahindra, Nayyar said they are in touch with the government and expect positive outcome. "We are always in continuous dialogue with the government. If the government sees the way we see it, then hopefully there will be a solution. We are quite confident that the government does not have a legal case (against us) and we will contest it (if there is any)."

The cases filed by agencies such as Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax against Satyam Computer, arising out of the 2009 accounting fraud at the erstwhile firm, continue to haunt the IT major.

Mahindra Group took over Satyam Computer after a multi-billion dollar corporate fraud, committed by its founding-Chairman B Ramalinga Raju, came to light. Tech Mahindra still faces some of the legal cases linked to the scam.

Tech Mahindra stock price

On September 19, 2014, Tech Mahindra closed at Rs 2474.60, up Rs 45.65, or 1.88 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 2521.80 and the 52-week low was Rs 1278.55.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 111.03 per share as per the quarter ended June 2014. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 22.29. The latest book value of the company is Rs 364.94 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 6.78.

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Hotel Leelaventure seeks more time to repay LIC debt

"The company was required to pay Rs 22.50 crore towards first instalment on March 31, 2014, which the company has not been able to pay. Further, the company has also not paid the quarterly interest, which fell due on June 19, 2014 and September 19, 2014," Hotel Leelaventure said in a filing to BSE.

Hotel Leelaventure  said it has not been able to pay Rs 22.50 crore as the first instalment for servicing a debt to state-owned life insurer LIC and is seeking more time for repayment.

"The company was required to pay Rs 22.50 crore towards first instalment on March 31, 2014, which the company has not been able to pay. Further, the company has also not paid the quarterly interest, which fell due on June 19, 2014 and September 19, 2014," Hotel Leelaventure said in a filing to BSE.

When asked about the matter, Hotel Leelaventure Chairman and Managing Director Vivek Nair said that the payment was to be made to Life Insurance Corporation.

The company CFO Krishna Deshika said the company had raised Rs 90 crore by issuing debentures to LIC.

The repayment was to be made in four annual instalments from March 2014-2017 and the company is seeking more time for the payment, he said.

Hotel Leelaventure had reported a widening of its standalone net loss to Rs 174.62 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2014. The company had posted a net loss of Rs 148.55
crore for the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.

Leela owns and operates eight properties in urban cities and holiday destinations such as Mumbai, Goa, Bangalore, Kovalam, Udaipur, Gurgaon, New Delhi and Chennai.

Other Leela properties under development include Jaipur, Bangalore, Agra and Lake Ashtamudi in Kerala.

The total debt of the company as on June 30, 2014 was about Rs 5,000 crore out of which Rs 4,000 crore was from the Corporate Debt Restructuring lenders.

Hotel Leela stock price

On September 19, 2014, Hotel Leela Venture closed at Rs 23.55, down Rs 0.3, or 1.26 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 30.80 and the 52-week low was Rs 14.00.

The latest book value of the company is Rs 18.49 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was 1.27.

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May enter housing finance, micro finance space: Manappuram

VP Nandakumar, chairman and managing director, Manappuram General Finance expects to see an asset under management (AUM) growth of 10 percent in FY15 and something between 15-20 percent in FY16.

We have a customer base of almost 2 million who maybe in requirement of affordable housing finance or microfinance.

VP Nandakumar

CMD

Manappuram General Finance

VP Nandakumar, chairman and managing director,  Manappuram General Finance says the company is mulling diversifying business and entering the housing finance and microfinance space.

Also read: Manappuram Finance Q1 net profit falls 17% to Rs 44cr

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Nandakumar says the company is in talks with merchant bankers and the board will meet on September 23 to decide on the same issue.

Furthermore, he expects to see an asset under management (AUM) growth of 10 percent in FY15 and something between 15-20 percent in FY16.

Below is the edited transcript of VP Nandakumar's interview with Latha Venkatesh & Sonia Shenoy on CNBC-TV18.

Latha: What is this diversification that you are contemplating into what businesses?

A: We have acquired a company in affordable home finance area. All the legal formalities are over and hopefully it will commence operations from January 2015.

We are also intending to get into microfinance area. We are in discussion. The company is yet to be finalise but a formal call will have to taken in the board meeting.

Latha: When you are discussion – you are in discussion with private equity investors for the microfinance?

A: We are discussing with some of the merchant bankers whether good companies available in the market etc, so that this can be presented before the board.

Sonai: With this diversification into housing finance and other microfinance, what will this help you do in terms of your earnings or perhaps your assets under management (AUM) growth? How much do you think you could improve it to?

A: We are catering to the requirement of the top of the bottom of the pyramid. We have a customer base of almost 2 million who maybe in requirement of affordable housing finance or microfinance that's why we see a lot of synergy in that. We have a pan-India presence. So, in areas where great opportunities are there, we can focus and which will help the company to improve its earnings.

Sonia: Will you have any investments that you will be making into these other businesses?

A: We are not that leveraged. Our leverage is less than three times the book. We have sufficient capital to infuse into this company. When this company is grown in two-three years time we expect these companies also to grow then we will consider investment.

Latha: You had given loans in 2013 Q3 and gold at that time was more than Rs 33,000 per 10gm. Today it is Rs 26,000 per 10gm. Are you having any problem of having lent loans at higher priced collateral and the collateral price falling?

A: We have provided in the last two quarters and we do not have any problem with all this. We have restructured our product also so even with some fall also our earnings cannot get affected negatively.

Manappuram Fin stock price

On September 19, 2014, at 11:09 hrs Manappuram Finance was quoting at Rs 30.60, up Rs 0.80, or 2.68 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 31.35 and the 52-week low was Rs 14.05.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 2.58 per share as per the quarter ended June 2014. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 11.86. The latest book value of the company is Rs 29.62 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 1.03.

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Walmart eyes 70 cash carry stores in India by 2020

The company believes the new government's decision to not revoke multi-brand retail policy is a positive. It will now be focusing on its wholesale business for now.

US retail giant Walmart is looking beyond multi-brand retail in India and is and hopes to grow at 25-30 percent.

The company runs 20 cash-and-carry (wholesale) stores in the country and plans to take this upto 70 in 2020.

The company believes the new government's decision to not revoke multi-brand retail policy is a positive and will be aiming on the wholesale business for now.

Furthermore, buoyed by the potential of e-commerce in India and the success of its digital pilot, the company aims to launch two new e-commerce stores by Oct 1. The company says it is about three months ahead of its e-commerce rollout target.

The company launched its online wholesale platform offering its service in Hyderabad and Lucknow .

Currently the company is engaged in cash-and-carry business in India. Last year the company called off its six-year partnership with Bharti Enterprises.

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Expect to touch Rs 2k cr topline this year: MBL Infra

"New business opportunities are coming to us in ports, harbours, river connectivity," says AK Lakhotia, chairman and CEO of MBL Infrastructure. He says the NDA government is taking up a lot of projects in the segment.

MBL Infrastructure  has recently entered into a joint venture with an Italian company. Will this help the Indian company get into more areas of operation like ports, harbours and marine structures?

"New business opportunities are coming to us in ports, harbours, river connectivity," says AK Lakhotia, chairman and CEO of MBL Infrastructure. He says the NDA government is taking up a lot of projects in the segment. The new government allocated Rs 4500 crore to this segment in the current Budget. He sees more Budgetary allocation to this segment, going ahead.

According to him, the above move is aimed at preparing MBL Infra for (better) days to come. He says the company is seeing strong order inflow in core competency area of civil engineering – roads, highways, etc. The company is focusing on its urban infrastructure segment.

On a consolidated basis, the company expects to touch Rs 2000 crore topline this year, with bottomline nearing Rs 200 crore.

Stay tuned for more…

MBL Infra stock price

On September 19, 2014, at 11:12 hrs MBL Infrastructures was quoting at Rs 345.45, up Rs 11.90, or 3.57 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 355.00 and the 52-week low was Rs 55.70.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 43.71 per share as per the quarter ended June 2014. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 7.9. The latest book value of the company is Rs 262.87 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 1.31.

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Alibaba in talks with Snapdeal to enter India: Report

Alibaba, whose shares are set to debut on the US market on Friday in what could be the world's largest ever initial public offering, has discussed with Snapdeal a possible investment in the Indian company, but a decision has not been reached yet, the daily reported.

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is in talks with online retailer Snapdeal to enter India, the Economic Times reported on Thursday, citing two people aware of the development.

Alibaba, whose shares are set to debut on the US market on Friday in what could be the world's largest ever initial public offering, has discussed with Snapdeal a possible investment in the Indian company, but a decision has not been reached yet, the daily reported.

Snapdeal, in which Ratan Tata, the former chairman of salt-to-steel Tata conglomerate, holds a stake, is also attracting attention from Japan's largest e-commerce company Rakuten Inc and telecommunications firm SoftBank Corp, the report said, citing investment banking sources.

Snapdeal spokeswoman said the company does not comment on speculation, while Alibaba was not available for immediate comment when reached by Reuters.

Alibaba increased the price range on its initial public offering to USD 66 to USD 68 on Monday, reflecting strong demand from investors for the year's most anticipated debut.

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Will pare debt by Rs 1.3K cr post rights issue: GMR Infra

The reason for the rights issue is to lower the company's high corporate date by Rs 1250 crore. GMR has a debt of Rs 37000 crore that it looks to cut by Rs 1300 crore post the rights issue in November.

GMR Infra  will be raising Rs 1500 crore via a rights issue and private equity firm KKR will be lending about Rs 1000 crore at the holding company level to facilitate it. However, KKR will have no holding in either GMR Infra or GMR Holding, says Madhu Terdal, group chief financial officer, GMR Infra.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Terdal says the loan is just a long-term structural arrangement being done by the company and KKR will not hold any board seat in GMR Holdings.

The reason for the rights issue is to lower the company's high corporate debt by Rs 1250 crore. GMR has a debt of Rs 37000 crore that it looks to cut by Rs 1300 crore post the rights issue in November.

Below is the verbatim transcript of Madhu Terdal's interview to CNBC-TV18's Latha Venkatesh and Sonia Shenoy

Latha: What will be the debt position now at the end of September 30 itself and definitely by the end of the year?

A: The current debt position is around Rs 37000 crore and post rights issue which is expected to happen sometime in November, I think this should fall down by around Rs 1300 crore again further.

Apart from the actual aggregate amount, what is the miracle that is going to happen actually, if you look at our balance sheet as on March 31, our debt to equity was 1:3.7. Post qualified institutional placement (QIP) it fell down to 1: 3.3 and now of course subject to Sebi approval and the successful completion, this will fall down to as low as 2.70. So in a span of less than six months or even eight months, the debt to equity will be falling down from 1:3.7 to 1:2.70; so that will be the real benefit that this both rights and QIP are going to cost to the company.

Number two, out of the QIP proceeds we had already reduced our corporate debt by about Rs 300 crore and now we are using another Rs 1250 towards reducing the debt. This will bring down the corporate debt in a span of six months by as much as around Rs 1500 crore, that will save the company as much about Rs 200 crore per annum. That will give a big relief to the company and the corporate debt will come down very substantially. If you see all the investors, analysts, this is a cause of concern and GMR has taken effective steps to reduce it.

GMR Infra stock price

On September 18, 2014, at 11:09 hrs GMR Infrastructure was quoting at Rs 23.25, up Rs 0.95, or 4.26 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 38.30 and the 52-week low was Rs 18.50.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 0.21 per share as per the quarter ended June 2014. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 110.71. The latest book value of the company is Rs 16.76 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 1.39.

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Mastek to divert bulk of cash reserves to insurance biz

In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Farid Kazani, Group CFO & Director Finance, Mastek, said the company demerged its insurance business due to different capital requirements.

We do feel that the valuations of the insurance product business in the US are significantly different

Farid Kazani

Group CFO

Mastek

IT solutions company Mastek has been in focus with the stock moving up over 35 percent this week. The company is set to demerge its insurance business into a new company — Majesco — that would focus on software products.

In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Farid Kazani, Group CFO & Director Finance, Mastek , said the company demerged its insurance business due to different capital requirements.

"We do feel the valuations of insurance products business in the US are significantly different and the restructuring has been done in such a manner that the entire value chain of the insurance business comes under the US subsidiary, MajescoMastek US," he said.

Kazani said the company will need to make necessary products investment in insurance business and there are plans to grow the business both organically and inorganically. Mastek has been looking at small-ticket acquisitions in the insurance products business in the US. The company has Rs 130 crore of cash on the books, which can be used for the purpose.

Kazani said the company may raise marginal debt in insurance business in the US at lower rates. Any fundraising in US won't affect the India business, he said, adding that nothing has been finalised yet on the acquisition front.

Below is the transcript of Farid Kazani's interview with Latha Venkatesh & Sonia Shenoy on CNBC-TV18.

Sonia: Talking about the demerger of the insurance business – a lot of the details are now with us, we have seen the presentation on the website etc, but going forward what could the margins of the insurance business be because now its going to be a separate listed entity and how much investments would you be making into the insurance business going ahead?

A: To give the background about the rational of the company, we operate in the insurance products business and the verticals solution business and operating these two businesses under the same umbrella was having some challenges considering that both these businesses have different business model. They do have a different level of investment and capital requirement and more so even the talent pool is quite different for both these business. Hence we felt that it's best to spi noff and demerge the insurance products business. We do feel that the valuations of the insurance product business in the US are significantly different and the restructuring has been done in such a manner that the entire value chain of the insurance business comes under the US subsidiary which is MajescoMastek, US.

Coming to your question – yes, there will be requirements for making the necessary product investment in the insurance business and there are plans to look at growing the business both organically and inorganically. There will be a requirement of funds but we do feel that there are various options available for us considering that now we will have a US base pure play insurance company. Depending upon the kind of acquisitions that we would like to build up on and we would be looking at smaller size acquisition, so depending upon that we will have some fund requirement. 

The restructuring also considers a split of the cash between the two companies; so out of the total 170 crore, we have decided to retain Rs 40 crore in solutions with vertical solutions business and the balance Rs 130 crore in the insurance depending upon how we see the cash requirement. So, there will be a mix of the internal funds that will get use, some debt that we could raise in the US company at a much lower rate and also at some stage look at divesting some part of the stake which will help us to meet the requirements of our inorganic and growth requirements.

Mastek stock price

On September 18, 2014, at 11:13 hrs Mastek was quoting at Rs 323.25, up Rs 5.75, or 1.81 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 337.00 and the 52-week low was Rs 117.00.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 14.81 per share as per the quarter ended June 2014. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 21.83. The latest book value of the company is Rs 154.04 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 2.10.

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Leisure homes: The new fad!

Second homes, leisure homes, weekend getaways whatever you call it – that's the segment which is grabbing attention in the market. Developers and investors across the country are rallying to add this space to your portfolio.

Second homes, leisure homes, weekend getaways whatever you call it – that's the segment which is grabbing attention in the market. Developers and investors across the country are rallying to add this space to your portfolio.

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Environment Ministry: Resolving the Okhla crisis

Environment minister, Prakash Javadekar says his ministry is no longer a speed breaker in handing out clearances. Prime Property asks him about the fate of the 30,000 home buyers in Noida stuck on account of ruling by the National Green Tribunal.

Environment minister, Prakash Javadekar says his ministry is no longer a speed breaker in handing out clearances. Prime Property asks him about the fate of the 30,000 home buyers in Noida stuck on account of ruling by the National Green Tribunal.

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Of 390 branches, 274 fully functional in valley: JK Bank

Relief operations continue across the flood-hit Jammu and Kashmir with water levels largely receding in the area. However, Mushtaq Ahmad of J&K Bank adds that movement within the city is still difficult and hence reaching out to the rest of the branches is difficult.

As many as 274 branches of total 390 of  Jammu and Kashmir Bank are fully functional in the valley and 169 ATMs are on track, says Jammu and Kashmir Bank chairman and chief executive officer Mushtaq Ahmad.

Relief operations continue across the flood-hit Jammu and Kashmir with water levels largely receding in the area. However, he adds that movement within the city is still difficult and hence reaching out to the rest of the branches is difficult. 

Also Read: Anger mounts in Kashmir after worst flood in over century

He expects over the next two days, many other branches will become fully functional.

Also, insurance companies such as Bajaj Alliance have already moved to south Kashmir.

Stay tuned for more...

JK Bank stock price

On September 17, 2014, at 11:12 hrs Jammu and Kashmir Bank was quoting at Rs 140.00, up Rs 0.60, or 0.43 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 1995.00 and the 52-week low was Rs 136.20.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 20.72 per share as per the quarter ended June 2014. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 6.76. The latest book value of the company is Rs 118.07 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 1.19.

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India's infrastructure mkt to reach $ 6.6 trn by 2025

India's infrastructure market is expected to touch USD 6.6 trillion by 2025, which will be nearly 12.5 per cent of the Asia-Pacific, says a report.

According to consultancy firm PwC, the Asia Pacific infrastructure market is expected to grow by 7-8 per cent a year over the next decade to over USD 53.6 trillion by 2025 and representing nearly 60 per cent of the world total.

The increase in infrastructure spends in the country is likely to be driven by sectors like housing, telecom, healthcare, education, transportation, among others, it said.

"Overall, India's share of the Asia-Pacific infrastructure market is expected to continue to grow, reaching around 12.5 per cent or USD 6.6 trillion by 2025," PwC said in its report.

Also read: Govt to roll out Rs 2 trn infra projects this year, says Gadkari

According to the report, transportation and utilities investments are expected to triple over the coming decade as income and travel demand will rise and the country's population will increasingly congregate in urban centres. "The ongoing development of technology services sector, as well as demand from households, is likely to drive investment in telecommunications infrastructure.

The population is expected to grow much faster than other countries in the region, which will further boost demand for infrastructure sectors serving households," the report said. While annual healthcare investment is forecast to grow around USD 37 billion by 2025, education infrastructure spending will likely to reach USD 18.9 billion.

"The huge growth in infrastructure spending will be driven by key factors such as Asia's economic growing prominence, trade competitiveness, and the current widely recognised infrastructure deficit across the emerging markets of this region.

"Asia is now the world's primary growth engine, with China, India and Southeast Asia offering a very large consumer base and low-cost workforce, with high levels of natural resources," PwC India Leader Capital Projects and Infrastructure Manish Agarwal said.

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After SBI, PNB likely to revise deposit rates in 15 days

After country's largest lender  State Bank of India  (SBI) cuts deposit rates to 8.75 percent from 9 percent for 1-3 years, other banks are likely to follow the suit.

Public sector lender Punjab National Bank  (PNB) is expected to revise its deposit rates in the next 15 days, says CMD KR Kamath. "We are at 9 percent now and we have also been looking at it because we have enough liquidity in the bank to meet the reasonable credit demand that can come," he adds.

However, the call on lending rate will depend on credit pick up, Kamath adds.

The credit growth of the bank is around 13 percent currently and is expected to touch 15 percent by the end of this fiscal. 

Below is verbatim transcript of the interview:

Q: There was an unscheduled rate cut by SBI. They have cut their one-three year deposit rates by a quarter percentage point. Now they stand at 8.75 percent, what is your one-year rate and will it be lowered shortly?

A: We are at 9 percent now and we have also been looking at it because we have enough liquidity in the bank to meet the reasonable credit demand that can come.

Now with the credit demand not going in a big way, there is no meaning holding on to the liquidity and accumulating and investing such amount in some other investment instruments which gives you less than what you pay on the deposit.

We will just wait and watch and in case the credit pick-up doesn't happen then we may also have to look at reviewing the interest rates and deposit rates.

Q: How long will you take before you make that decision?

A: We have a credit policy in front of us in another 15 days and we may take maybe 15 days time to look at it.

Q: You expect this to become a flood, most of the bankers to follow suit now that the guy with 25 percent market has given you the elbow room?

A: I think it depends on respective banks' asset liability management (ALM) positions. We also find that some of the banks are still in the wholesale market beyond 9 percent.
It depends on the respective banks' ALM positions and those banks who are positive on liquidity may definitely review the rates of interest and who are still having ALM issues may take a little more time.

Q: How long do banks take to convert that into a lending rate cut?

A: If you look at the lending rate cut today, the demand is absolutely on the retail side that is happening and we are lending at the best possible rates that housing loans going at base rates and auto rates, all cut at 10.65-10.75 percent sort of a thing.

Now converting it into a base rate reduction will definitely take some time because it will also have far-reaching implications on the net interest margins (NIMs). So this is a temporary phase and then we should see how the credit pick up happens and only then we will take a call on the lending side.

Q: Can you give us an indication of how much of 25 bps cut will impact the margins positively?

A: In single digit numbers it will impact. It will not create a big impact because about 40 percent of your deposits are in current account/savings account (CASA). So it is only 60 percent. Also, you see how much of the deposit comes in this bracket.

Q: Would banks therefore cut single product loan rates? Like you only cut home loans or you only cut consumer durable loans ahead of Diwali it makes sense, should we expect that kind of a pattern from banks?

A: That can happen to some extent but banks have already announced this. The basic loans that are in demand today are housing loans which are absolutely at base rate by most of the banks. So there is no further scope of cutting them. In respect of the auto loans, we have already cut and announced it at 10.65-10.75 percent.

Q: Are you saying that deposit rate cut has followed the lending rate cut?

A: On a retail side, yes.

Q: We were speaking with Keki Mistry just a while back and he indicated that he expects to see about 15 percent credit growth once the credit offtake picks up. What is your indication of how much time it would take for credit growth to pick up and what could the eventual growth be?

A: We have a busy season coming in and so, in the second half of the year the credit growth should pick up especially the working capital limits, which are not drawn out are drawn up.

Also, on the basis of your other creditor investment, the credit growth cannot come in a big way. The SME credit and the agricultural credit are just keeping pace with the normal credit growth rate.

Last year our growth was not that good. So we are around 13 percent but 15 percent growth is possible.

Q: Is it too early to call this a beginning of a decline in the rate cycle?

A: Yes, if you have tracked governor's statement yesterday, it is too early to say that we are out of the woods. Therefore, it is too early to say it is a beginning but since it has happened, you cannot just say not also. But what is the gap in the next moves to cut, we will have to wait and watch.

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Seeing good demand for bond-based issuances: LT Fin

N Sivaraman also commented on L&T Finance Holdings current state of business. He says in terms of core competencies, it is either the number 2 or the number 3 player in every segment it is present in, except the commercial vehicles space.

With lower-than-expected credit offtake and the current state of liquidity generation, interest rates or cost of money can drop from current levels, says N Sivaraman, president and wholetime director of L&T Finance Holdings .

Though inflation has cooled a bit, it continues to be a worry and hence it may take another 2-3 quarters to see a drop in interest rates, he adds.

L&T Finance Holdings is seeing good demand for bond-based issuances.

Sivaraman also commented on L&T Finance Holdings current state of business. He says in terms of core competencies, it is either the number 2 or the number 3 player in every segment it is present in, except the commercial vehicles space.

Stay tuned for more…

L&T Finance stock price

On September 16, 2014, at 11:10 hrs L&T Finance Holdings was quoting at Rs 71.20, up Rs 0.55, or 0.78 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 88.35 and the 52-week low was Rs 62.30.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 1.12 per share as per the quarter ended June 2014. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 63.57. The latest book value of the company is Rs 20.52 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 3.47.

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70% employers to expand; mid-level talent in demand: Survey

Companies are realising the value of developing employee skills and offering internal career opportunities, as senior level executives and human resources teams recognise the importance of retention strategies, the report said.

The country is likely to see high growth in the job market as 70 percent employers plan to expand their team, a recent survey said.

"India's business market is currently primed for expansion, with the recruitment market being driven by significant industry sectors such as FMCG, retail, healthcare, manufacturing and real estate. About 70 percent of employers surveyed plan to expand their team," Michael Page's 'India Salary & Employment Forecast' for 2014-15 said.

In addition, many employers seek highly competent professionals at the mid to senior management level, with 45 per cent of surveyed employers indicating that mid-level professionals will be in highest demand in the coming year, the survey report said.

Companies are realising the value of developing employee skills and offering internal career opportunities, as senior level executives and human resources teams recognise the importance of retention strategies, the report said.

"Managing turnover will continue to provide a major challenge for employers in the next 12 months, with 51 per cent of surveyed employers expecting staff to leave their business in the coming year," it said.

Companies are also implementing full-fledged diversity programmes to ensure equal opportunity for candidates irrespective of their background or gender. In the past few years, employers made strong a headway when it comes to corporate responsibility, including implementing diversity policies to provide equal opportunity to candidates from all backgrounds and genders. About 79 percent of employers surveyed indicate that women in their organisation are provided equal opportunity to progress to executive level roles as men, the survey report said.

In terms of hiring strategies, 68 per cent of employers invest in digital assets to attract new candidates to the recruitment process, the survey said.

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To use QIP funds to create war chest for 99Acres: Info Edge

Hitesh Oberoi, CEO and MD, Info Edge says the company keeps scouting the market for acquisitions all the time considering real estate – the online space – is such a hot sector. According to him, real estate will be a good sector for the medium term, even if it means clocking losses in the short term.

Providers of online classifieds in recruitment, matrimonial, real estate and education  Info Edge has raised Rs 750 crore through the Qualified Institutional Placements or QIP route. It has sold 1.01 crore shares at Rs 740 per share, which is at a 3.5 percent discount to floor price of Rs 766.89 share.

Hitesh Oberoi, CEO and MD, Info Edge, says the company is raising funds to create a war chest for 99Acres, for acquisitions and for investing in existing companies.

Also Read: Eyeing 3-4% growth in FY15: Escorts Agri Machinery

He says the company keeps scouting the market for acquisitions all the time considering real estate – the online space – is such a hot sector. According to him, real estate will be a good sector for the medium term, even if it means clocking losses in the short term.

"The market has only just begun to recover, with continued recovery Naukri will bounce back and see profits too," Oberoi said about Naukri.com.

He says when investors look at Info Edge, they don't see past performances but look for future potential in all the businesses it has invested into.

Below is the verbatim transcript of Hitesh Oberoi's interview with Latha Venkatsh & Sonia Shenoy on CNBC-TV18.

Sonia: Can you tell us what will these funds exactly be used for?

A: We are raising these funds to create a war chest for 99 acres, which is our real estate vertical. In addition to this of course, the funds could also be used for acquisitions for our existing ventures like in job space, in the real estate space, in the education space besides we could continue to invest in our investee company as well.

Latha: Have you got some company on your radar, since you are sounding fairly positive on it. Should we hear from you before 2014 is out or before the fiscal year is out?

A: We keep scouting the market for companies to invest and acquire. Last year we acquired two startups in the job space, of course these are very small acquisitions. We keep looking at the market, this is a very hot sector, the internet space in general; there is a lot of entrepreneurial activity. So from time to time we keep meeting companies who could be of interest to us. So we have nothing on the radar right now but we are always scouting.

Stay tuned for more...

Info Edge stock price

On September 15, 2014, at 11:10 hrs Info Edge India was quoting at Rs 888.25, up Rs 15.05, or 1.72 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 976.00 and the 52-week low was Rs 296.50.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 12.65 per share as per the quarter ended June 2014. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 70.22. The latest book value of the company is Rs 69.48 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 12.78.

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Eyeing 3-4% growth in FY15: Escorts Agri Machinery

The company just recently launched two tractor models in Bangladesh- Farmtrac 6060- Heritage series and Powertrac Diesel-Saver Plus 4450 Euro series.

Sameer Tandon, Head - National Sales – Tractors,  Escorts Agri Machinery says the company will grow to the tune of 3-4 percent this year as the past few quarters have been quite punishing for the sector.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Tandon says he is hopeful of demand reviving on the account of rainfall and the festive season.

Also read: Tractor financing slightly hit by monsoon deficit: Chola

"We have seen a good amount of rainfall in the past few days and hence the kharif crop is likely to be good. We also see a good demand owing to the festive season," he says.

The company just recently launched two tractor models in Bangladesh- Farmtrac 6060- Heritage series and Powertrac Diesel-Saver Plus 4450 Euro series.

Tandon hopes to sell 3,500 units of tractors in Bangladesh per year.

Below is the verbatim transcript of Sameer Tandon interview with CNBC-TV18\'s Latha Venkatesh and Sonia Shenoy.

Sonia: Can you just take us through this new launch of the tractors in the Bangladesh market. How much do you expect the Bangladesh market to contribute to your overall revenues or to the overall exports, say, in the next 6-12 months?

A: When we ventured into the exports market, we started the launches with Hannover in Germany which we did in November last year and then we had a launch in South Africa and the third launch was in Bangladesh. So, Bangladesh as well is a developing agricultural market where we have a lot of players showing interest and we thought that the tractors which we have just launched, which we call Farmtrac Heritage Series in Europe would find a great market here. So along with that as well we have launched the Powertrac Euro range which as well we launched about last year in India.

Bangladesh would be around 3,500 units type of market. We have a very negligible presence as of now but we hope that we should be able to get to about 10 percent of the market share in an year or two.

Latha: Give us some numbers on the export front. You have begun to do a fairly sturdy 450-470 numbers per month. What might it increase to in 6-12 months?

A: We have not gone into a number game right now. We are still a very small player. What we have been very keenly looking at is we are not looking at typical tractor company from India and only looking at African markets. We started from Europe and in Europe the smaller tractor segment which we make is a very small segment and we are aiming at in the smaller range of these tractors in Europe. We should try to be number one and with that we have started it. So we should be consistent around maybe about 100 or odd number for some time and then we will start looking at exploring into more European countries. 

Escorts stock price

On September 15, 2014, at 11:05 hrs Escorts was quoting at Rs 145.75, down Rs 1.85, or 1.25 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 150.50 and the 52-week low was Rs 81.40.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 12.65 per share as per the quarter ended June 2014. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 11.52. The latest book value of the company is Rs 149.68 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 0.97.

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JPMorgan hackers accessed servers but stole no money

"We are confident we have closed any known access points and prevented any future access in the same way," the paper quoted JPMorgan spokeswoman Kristin Lemkau as saying.

Hackers accessed dozens of servers at JPMorgan Chase & Co in a cyberattack launched in June, though no money was taken, the New York Times reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the investigation into the case.

"We are confident we have closed any known access points and prevented any future access in the same way," the paper quoted JPMorgan spokeswoman Kristin Lemkau as saying.

She added that the bank had "not seen any unusual fraud activity" since the intrusion was discovered and said there was no evidence that they have taken any proprietary software or had a blueprint of the bank's network, according to the Times.

JPMorgan disclosed late last month that it had been the victim of a cyberattack and was working with US law enforcement authorities to determine its scope.

The Times said the attack began in June, was detected in July and that the bank last week briefed financial regulators on the extent of the damage.

The report said that hackers accessed information on about 1 million customer accounts. It cited one source as saying that hackers had not gained access to financial information or Social Security numbers, and may have only been able to review names, addresses and phone numbers.

Bank spokeswoman Trish Wexler told Reuters she could not elaborate on Lemkau's statements to the paper or otherwise comment on the report.

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NRI investment in Indian realty may rise 35%: Survey

Property developers are expecting a 35 percent surge in real estate enquiries from NRIs (non-resident Indians) with Bangalore turning out to be a favourite, according to a survey by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham).

To tap the growing interest, which comes at a time when the global economy is stabilising and India is showing strong signs of revival, real estate companies here are pulling out all the stops by conducting property shows, exhibitions and opening overseas representative offices.

Developers are also expanding their existing distribution chains and entering into strategic partnerships to encourage investors from this cash-rich segment, the industry body said.

The survey was conducted among nearly 850 real estate developers in Delhi-NCR, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune, Dehradun, Chennai etc.

Bangalore was the most favourite property investment destination for NRIs, followed by Ahmedabad, Pune, Chennai, Goa, Delhi and Dehradun, the survey showed.

Also read:  Mumbai realty prices see modest appreciation in Jan-March

The enquiries are primarily coming from NRIs residing in the UAE, the US, Singapore, Australia, the UK, Canada and South Africa.

This year, demand is more for the high-end property and commercial buildings, developers say.

"With the revival in global economy, especially in the United States and Europe, people are more optimistic and looking for property to invest in."

"Both small and big developers are focusing on the NRI base in the US, the UK and Asia Pacific region this year," Assocham Secretary General D S Rawat said.

As per the findings of the survey, Ahemdabad (32 percent) continued to be the most stable market in terms of demand and absorption of both residential and commercial spaces.

NRIs consider Ahmedabad as a safe place to invest in, with lenient government regulations for property investments. Pune was at the third position (30.5 percent), as per the survey, whereas Chennai (28 percent) was at the 4th spot and Goa (23 percent) at the 5th place.

In Delhi, there has been a 21 percent rise in enquiries this year as opposed to last year and a majority of them have been for the residential segment.

Catering to the growing demand in the high-end segment, Delhi has also emerged among the promising markets for real estate, the survey showed.

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