INDIA BUSINESS WORLD - APRIL 2006
THE MONTH THAT WAS

News & important developments from the most prospective of the New World markets……. India. Our effort is to provide you with the latest and relevant developments that take place in the Indian business, economic and legal environment.

ECONOMIC & LEGAL NEWS

INDIA INC SHOWS COMBINED NET SALES AND NET PROFIT GROWTH OF 32% AND 37% : INDIA Inc seems to have had an outstanding FY06, if numbers posted by early birds are an indicator. The first 50 companies to post annual results for the year ended March '06 have shown combined net sales and net profit growth of 32% and 37%, respectively.

INTEREST RATES ON HOME LOANS SET TO RISE 25-50 BPS : RETAIL customers, especially home loan customers taking loans above Rs 20 lakh, may have to pay marginally higher interest rates.

BIG-TICKET REFORMS IN INSURANCE AND RETAIL : Expected to be rolled out in a month's time, reformed include permitting 100% FDI in insurance companies serving rural population, 49% FDI in all retail trades, incorporation of companies providing any kind of contract labour and free entry to A-grade global universities.

BUSINESS NEWS

PHARMA R&D OUTSOURCING MAY REACH $53 B BY 2010 : With a slowdown in patented drugs sales and drying R&D pipelines, global pharma companies are increasingly exploring low-cost options for outsourcing research and manufacturing.

REALTY COS SET TO BUILD ON SEZS'TAX-EXEMPT STATUS : Real estate developers, riding on total tax exemption, are eyeing special economic zones (SEZ) as the next destination.

EXPORTERS GET MORE TIME TO REALISE PROCEEDS UP TO $1M : Encouraged by the build-up in the country's foreign exchange reserves, the RBI has taken another measure to relax the operational rules relating to the current account.

RETAILERS TO INVEST $20B : LOOK no further for the next big story in India. Retailing is here. Entry of big business houses like Reliance, the Bharti Group and the Tatas and a flurry of highprofile appointments is only the precursor.

MNC MUST ASK INDIAN ALLY BEFORE SELLING : IN A significant development, the ministry of company affairs (MCA) has clarified that foreign promoters effecting changes in the shareholding of Indian telecom ventures would need to take the local partner into confidence.

NEW DEVELOPMENTS AND JOINT VENTURES

CHEVRON PICKS UP 5% STAKE IN RELIANCE PETRO : Hours before the Reliance Petroleum IPO was to hit the market, USA's second largest oil major Chevron Corporation tied up with RPL's parent Reliance Industries.

GOLDMAN SACHS PICKS UP 5.39% IN HFCL : MAURITIUS-BASED Goldman Sachs Investments has picked up 5.39% stake in HFCL, one of the largest telecom manufacturers in India.

SUBEX SYSTEMS BUYS UK'S AZURE SOLUTIONS FOR $140 MILLION : THE biggest overseas acquisition by an Indian IT company has come not from the Wipro or Infy but from a Bangalore-based mid-sized IT products company Subex Systems.

GENERAL ATLANTIC PUTS RS 144 CR IN SHAREKHAN : LEADING private equity fund General Atlantic (GA) has invested Rs 144 crore in Mumbai-based online brokerage firm Sharekhan, GA has agreed to buy Carlyle group's 15% stake in the company, and will also infuse some additional equity in the company.

INFY TO BUY CITI'S ENTIRE 23% IN PROGEON FOR $115 M : INFOSYS Technologies announced that it will buy the entire 23% stake of Citicorp International Finance Corporation (Citi) in its business process outsourcing arm Progeon for $115.13 million (Rs 518 crore), making it a wholly-owned subsidiary.

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