After 6 years on top, Lakshmi Mittal drops out of SA rich list
JOHANNESBURG: NRI steel baron Lakshmi Mittal, who had topped South Africa’s richest list of 100 businessmen for six consecutive years, has been left out this year due to plummeting share price of ArcelorMittal SA amid the global drop in steel prices. Mittal started dropping down on the annual list of South Africa’s richest businessmen three years ago, after being ranked on top from 2006 to 2011. In 2012, Mittal was ranked third in the annual Sunday Times Rich List and a year later, he was at the 9th position.
Air Costa get clearance for
pan-India flying permit
NEW DELHI: Vijayawada-based regional carrier Air Costa today said it has received a clearance from the civil aviation ministry for a pan-India flying permit and now plans to go national from the summers next year. The No Objection certificate (NOC) will enable it to secure a national flying licence from aviation regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). As of now, the airline operates on regional routes, mainly destinations across south India. “Pan-India operations shall commence from the summer schedule of 2016,” Air Costa deputy chief executive officer Vivek Choudhary was quoted as saying in a release.
Edelweiss Mutual Fund lists second ETF on NSE
MUMBAI: Edelweiss Mutual Fund today said it has listed its second open-ended exchange traded fund (ETF), Edelweiss Exchange Traded Scheme-Banking (EBANK), on the NSE. The scheme is suitable for investors seeking long term capital appreciation and investment in securities covered by the Nifty Bank Index, a company statement said. The investment objective of EBANK is to provide returns before expenses that closely correspond to the total returns of the Nifty Bank Index, subject to tracking errors, it added. However, there can be no assurance or guarantee that the investment objective of the scheme will be realised and the scheme does not guarantee any returns, the statement said.
China slowdown may hit energy, steel sectors in APAC: Fitch
MUMBAI: Energy and steel may be the hardest-hit sectors in Asia-Pacific (APAC) in the event of a sharp slowdown in Chinese growth, says Fitch Ratings. “The sector outlooks for APAC steel and energy, and global shipping, are negative even under our current forecast expectations where China slows only gradually. “Asian manufacturing and technology sectors would also be significantly affected, given the scale of Chinese demand and its position in the regional supply chain,” Fitch said in its report titled ‘China Slowdown Scenario’.
US visa fee hike to hit Indian IT
industry, says Nasscom
HYDERABAD: The hike in visa fee by US Congress will have a negative impact on Indian software and services companies, for which America is the biggest market, apex IT industry body Nasscom said today. The US Congress has doubled a special fee on the popular H-1B and L-1 visas, raising it to USD 4,500 to fund a 9/11 healthcare act and biometric tracking system. “The impact is fairly high. But I guess the US has its own priorities. Nasscom believes this is very negative that they are doing…because there is still fairly shortage of skills, especially in STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics (in USA).
Dena Bank ties up with SBI Life for Group Life Insurance
MUMBAI: Dena Bank today said it has tied up with SBI Life Insurance Company to provide Group Life Insurance coverage to its housing loan borrowers under the ‘Dena Grihaswami Suraksha Yojana’. Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), insurance cover will be given to all housing loan borrowers at a very low premium, Dena Bank said in a release issued here. Among other features, the insurance cover is limited to outstanding loan amount. In case of death of the borrower during the term of cover, outstanding loan is set off against the policy proceeds settled by SBI Life Insurance, it said. There would be single premium for the entire period of the loan at the time of entry into the scheme, it said.
Domestic air traffic logs nearly
25% growth: DGCA
NEW DELHI: Domestic air traffic logged a robust of nearly 25 per cent growth in November with 11 Indian carriers together flying 7.32 million passengers as compared to 5.82 million passengers in the same period last year, driven by the demand in the tourist season. Domestic air traffic grew by 24.65 per cent in the month of November, according to DGCA monthly traffic data. However, the growth during the January-November period stood at 20.41 per cent for flying 73.38 million passengers as against 60.94 million passengers transported by the domestic carriers in the same period of 2014, the data said.
In the month of November, budget carrier IndiGo lost market share by a few notches despite carrying more number of passengers and continued recording the highest load factor.
MUTHOOT (BCM23)
Muthoot Finance to raise Rs 500 crore via NCDs
MUMBAI: Muthoot Finance today said it seeks to raise Rs 500 crore from a public issue of non-convertible debentures (NCDs) which is now open for subscription.
Through the issue of NCDs (secured and unsecured), the Kerala-based gold financing company plans to raise up to Rs 250 crore, with a right to retain over-subscription of Rs 250 crore, giving the offering a total size of Rs 500 crore.
The issue opened on December 11 and will close on January 11, 2016, with an option for early closure, a company statement said here.
The NCDs have been rated ‘AA-/Stable’ by Crisil, indicating high degree of safety regarding timely servicing of financial obligations and carry very low credit risk, it said.
BEETLE (BCM24)
Volkswagen launches Beetle at Rs 28.73 lakh
MUMBAI: German auto major Volkswagen, which is under regulatory probe for allegedly cheating on emission tests, today launched its iconic Beetle in India at Rs 28.73 lakh (ex-showroom Mumbai).
Volkswagen Passenger Cars India director Michael Mayer said the Beetle, that comes with a 1.4-liter engine and a 7-speed gearbox, is an iconic car that has scripted automotive history for over six decades.
The Beetle has over the years developed a cult-following among automobile enthusiasts and classic car patrons globally.
MAHINDRA (BCM25)
Mahindra enters petrol segment with KUV100; launch on Jan 15
MUMBAI: Diesel-only utility vehicles major Mahindra & Mahindra, which is the worst hit by the Supreme Court order on high-end diesel vehicle sales in Delhi, today announced entry into the petrol segment with the unveiling of its first compact SUV, KUV100, which will come with both petrol and diesel engines.
The company will commercially launch KUV100 on January 15. It will come in four models in petrol and diesel versions, executive director Pawan Goenka told reporters here after announcing the name of the new SUV and petrol engine.
Announcing the soft-launch of KUV100, Goenka said, “We are all set to create a new segment with the launch of the KUV100 which also marks our foray into ground-up petrol engines….I am confident the KUV100 become a popular brand and will be cited for taking Mahindra to a whole new orbit.
Goenka said the company has spent close to Rs 500 crore to develop and design the new vehicle which has been in the making during the past four years. The KUV100 is built on a completely new platform based on mFaclon engine platform, and will be rolled out at and launched from the Chakan, Pune plant, he added.
TATATELE
Enterprise biz growing at 17%: Tata Teleservices
KOLKATA: Telecom major Tata Teleservices today said its enterprise business is growing at 17 per cent annually, double than the industry average.
“Our enterprise business is growing at 17 per cent year-on-year for the last few years against industry growth of about 8 per cent,” Tata Teleservices President (Enterprise) Prateek Pashine said here.
He said enterprise business accounts for 30 per cent of the company’s total revenue.
Pashine said Tata Teleservices is among the leaders in the Rs 35,000 crore enterprise segment of the telecom industry of Rs 2,00,000 crore.
Declining to disclose its overall marketshare in the enterprise business, saying there is no authentic data for that, Pashine said the company would strive to add 1-1.5 per cent marketshare each year.
SUPERBIKE(Bcm30)
DSK Motowheels, Benelli launch 250 cc bike priced at Rs 1.68lk
PUNE: DSK Motowheels and Italian Superbike brand Benelli today launched DSK Benelli TNT 25 here, describing it as the “most affordable modern street bike” in the market.
The bike is priced at Rs 1.68 lakh.
Shirish Kulkarni, chairman, DSK Motowheels, which is a part of the DSK group, said the DSK-Benelli was committed to “create a thriving superbiking culture in India and the bike launched today is within the reach of many”.
The parts of TNT 25 are manufactured by Benelli at its plant in China and assembled at the DSK Motowheels plant at Wai in Satara district near here with a capacity of delivering 25 bikes per day, Kulkarni said.
TNT 25 is a lightweight sporty 250 cc bike and comes with two tyre options – Metzeler and MRF.
