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12 BRIEFLY Anil Ambani to lead India-China CEO forum New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has cleared the names of corporate leaders of the Indian side for the India-China CEOs forum and the side would be led by ADAG chairman Anil Ambani. — PTI Maruti to start ops of 2nd Manesar plant New Delhi: Maruti Suzuki India said it might start operations of the second plant in the Manesar unit within next two days, thereby advancing it by almost a month. — PTI Growth to slow down to 7pc: Deloitte New Delhi: India’s economic growth could slow down to 7 per cent in the current fiscal as investment activity is likely to be reduced in the present high interest rate regime, consultancy firm Deloitte said. — PTI Anil Chaudhary appointed SAIL director Kolkata: Anil Kumar Chaudhary, 50, has taken charge as director (finance) of Steel Authority of India (SAIL). Prior to this, he was executive director (finance & accounts) at the company’s Bokaro Steel Plant. — BP METRO opens Ludhiana store Kolkata: METRO Cash & Carry India, on Thursday, launched its Ludhiana wholesale distribution centre, which will be a one-stopshop to meet all the needs of business customers in Punjab. — BP Nayak assumes charge as PGCIL CMD New Delhi: R N Nayak has taken charge as the chairman and managing director of Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL). — PTI Videocon d2h reaches 4 million subscribers Kolkata: Just 8 months after securing its first two million customers, Videocon d2h, a provider of direct-to-home services in India, has reached four million subscribers. — BP Bazaar Kolkata unveils new scheme Kolkata: Bazaar Kolkata has launched the ‘Sone Pe Suhaaga’ scheme that gives customers a chance to win a wide range of gifts while shopping. This offer is valid till October 3, 2011. — BP Arise India holds dealers’ meet Kolkata: Arise India, a manufacturer of inverters, batteries, gas & electric geysers, pumps and R.O. systems, organised its dealers’ meet on August 25. Managing director Avinash Jain was present on the occasion. — BP Tata Photon on Rev B launched BUSINESS Kolkata: Tata Teleservices has unveiled Tata Photon on Rev B, the latest addition to the Photon family, on the CDMA platform. — BP Food inflation in double digits New Delhi: After a gap of over five months, food inflation entered the doubledigit zone at 10.05 per cent for the week ended August 20, with finance minister Pranab Mukherjee describing the trend as “disturbing” and experts saying the Reserve Bank might go in for another rate hike. The weekly food inflation, measured by wholesale price index (WPI), went up from 9.80 per cent on account of expensive onion, vegetables, fruits and protein-based items. The last time food inflation crossed 10 per cent was in the week ended March 12. “Food inflation has gone up... This is really disturbing. We shall have to ensure and remove the supply con- straints on food items,” Mukherjee said. As per the official data released on Thursday, prices of onion soared by 57.01 per cent year-on-year and potato rose by 13.31 per cent during the week under review. Fruits became dearer by 21.58 per cent and vegetables by 15.78 on an annual basis. Prices of protein-rich items, egg, meat and fish were up 12.62 per cent while milk and cereals became dearer by 9.22 per cent and 4.64 per cent, respectively. Attributing the jump in food inflation to seasonal factors, experts opined it could again force the Reserve Bank to hike inter- Power Packed est rate during its mid-quarter monetary policy review scheduled on September 16. “With headline inflation remaining well above 9 per cent, we expect the RBI to raise key policy rates by 25 basis points at its next midquarterly review,” Crisil chief economist D K Joshi said. Food items constitute about 14 per cent to the WPI. Joshi said seasonal factors like supply problems due to heavy rainfall in parts of the country are pushing up the � (L to R) MTS India president & CEO Vsevolod Rozanov, Qualcomm India & South Asia president Avneesh Agrawal and CDMA Development Group chief operating officer James Person during the launch of MBlaze Ultra in New Delhi on Thursday — PTI LIC east targets `6,700 cr first premium in 2011-12 Our Bureau Kolkata: Braving its way up to hold on its commanding market share in the life insurance market in eastern India, Life Insurance Corporation’s (LIC) eastern zone is gunning for a 24 per cent growth in the first premium income in the current fiscal at `6,700 crore. Last year, while the set target was `5400 crore, the zone was able to collect `5200 crore. Addressing the media on LIC’s 55th anniversary, zonal manager, S K Roy said, “Till mid-August, we have garnered `1115 crore of new business premium, which is less than around `1,800 crore mopped up during the corresponding period of the previous year”. Asked on whether the zone could achieve its budgeted target this year, Roy said, “Definitely, the main business picks up during the fourth quarter and we are confident of achieving it. Last year was exceptional as significant sales happened and three of the popular plans including Wealth Plus and Market Plus 1 closed down.” “We have a good bouquet of 50-odd products and the market is responding well to both the unit-linked and non unit-linked plans. Our approach will be to have a balanced view of both traditional and linked plans”, he added. It would be interesting to see how the leading life major strategises to garner the budgeted growth this year. Moreover, with the volatility in the stock market, many policy holders may choose to close their policies (the initial ulips which have three years as the lock-in period). This may have some impact on the renewal premium in general of most life insurance companies. Meanwhile on the operations side, LIC is close to completing its digitisation by end of October. LIC eastern office will take the opportunity of the LIC week to reach out to people with their various CSR activities in the form of blood donation camps, health check-ups for women and children among others. Europe rejects call for more capital Frankfurt: European bankers and politicians jumped to defend the region’s banks on Thursday, rejecting an International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimate that they need 200 billion euros ($290 billion) in new capital to reflect sovereign debt losses. IMF chief Christine Lagarde’s call on Saturday for mandatory capitalisation of European banks to prevent a world recession has reignited a debate over whether they have raised sufficient capital to withstand a severe downturn. The clash highlights diverging views about the underlying safety of the European banking system. The IMF and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) have both voiced concerns, while European regulators, politicians and banking associations argue that banks have a sufficient capital cushion to cope with market turbulence and worries over sovereign debt after several rounds of capital raising across the continent. The IMF had estimated European banks could face a capital shortfall of 200 billion euros, a figure rejected by � LIC zonal manager S K Roy in Kolkata on Thursday — Prabir Bhattacharya European bankers and policymakers, sources said. The IMF figure is much higher than estimates of banks’ capital needs following stress tests in July. J P Morgan has estimated that based on the stress test data, European banks showed a capital deficit of 80 billion euros, with the UK banks needing 25 billion euros, French banks 20 billion euros and German lenders 14 billion euros. The European Commission reiterated it saw no need for drastic action since the publication of the stress test results, echoing comments made by the European Banking Authority on Tuesday. “Our analysis of the situation hasn’t changed. It is in fact shared by the member states. We did have an indepth discussion when the results of the stress tests for banks were presented and there is no reason to change it now,” European Commission spokesman Amadeu Altafaj told a regular briefing. The bank stress tests did not factor in the impact of a significant drop in the value of sovereign debt. — Reuters food inflation. He, however, said as monsoon has been good so far, prices of vegetables may come down in coming days. Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia also said seasonal factors are pushing up inflation. “Inflation is a worry... If you see the data, last year at this time food prices went down and then rose again. So, I would not be surprised if prices rise a little bit,” Ahluwalia said. Overall, primary articles recorded 12.93 per cent inflation for the week ended August 20, up from 12.40 per cent in the previous week. Primary articles have a share of over 20 per cent in the WPI. — PTI IBM to buy Algorithmics for $387m Bangalore: IT major IBM on Thursday said it has agreed to acquire Toronto-based risk analytics firm Algorithmics for $387 million (about `1,750 crore). The acquisition is subject to applicable regulatory clearances and other customary closing conditions. With the closing of this acquisition, approximately 900 Algorithmics employees will join IBM’s software group, the IT giant said in a statement. “Combining Algorithmics’ expertise with IBM’s deep analytics portfolio will allow clients to take a holistic appr - oach to managing risk and responding to economic change across their enterprises,” IBM general manager (business analytics) Rob Ashe said. Risk analytics, software, content and advisory services of Algorithmics, a member of Fitch Group, are used by banking, investment and insurance businesses to help assess risk, address regulatory requirements and make more insightful business decisions. Algorithmics’ risk analytics, software and services combined with IBM’s acquisition of OpenPages and recent investments in predictive analytics will provide clients with the broadest range of business analytics solutions, IBM said. More than 350 clients, including 25 of the top 30 banks and more than twothirds of the leading insurers, use Algorithmics’ analytics software and advisory services, IBM said. The clients include The Allianz Group, BlueCrest, HSBC, Nedbank, Nomura, Societe Generale, and Scotia Capital. “Combining Algorithmics’ thought leadership, technology, content and services with IBM’s globally recognised analytics business will help a broader group of clients improve their business performance based on a deeper understanding of risk,” Algorithmics president and COO Michael Zerbs said. — PTI Kolkata Friday September 2, 2011 www.thebengalpost.com Car sales see decline as the big three slide Toyota, GM, Ford, Honda buck trend, 2-wheeler sales up New Delhi: Domestic car sales in August hit road bumps with the three big automakers — Maruti Suzuki India, Hyundai Motor India and Tata Motors — posting a decline in their monthly numbers. Amid tough market conditions because of high interest rates and fuel prices, sales got further hurt for Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) due to the ongoing labour issues at its Manesar plant, affecting production. MSI said it recorded sales of 77,086 units in the domestic market last month, a 16.82 per cent fall from 92,674 units in August 2010. Hyundai Motor India (HMIL) said its sales declined 6.7 per cent to 26,677 units in August from 28,601 units in the same month last year. “The market continues to be tough and there is no sign of recovery in the immediate future. The rising fuel prices and interest rates have been instrumental in this sluggish market trend,” HMIL director (marketing and sales) Arvind Saxena said. Homegrown auto major Tata Motors’ total passenger vehicles sales in the domestic market stood at 16,829 units in August, a fall of 33.25 per cent from 25,212 units in the same month last year. Sales of Nano stood at 1,202 units, down 85 per cent, the company said. Some other manufacturers, including Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) and General Motors India, reported an increase in sales on the back of new models. TKM said its August sales zoomed 83.82 per cent to 11,693 units, Exports jump 82pc to $29 bn in July New Delhi: Exports surged by 81.79 per cent to $29.3 billion in July despite uncertain economic conditions in the US and Europe. Shipments stood at $16.14 billion in the year-ago period. Imports too jumped 51.5 per cent to $40.4 billion in July against 26.6 billion in the same period last year, leaving a trade deficit of $11 billion, the commerce ministry said in a statement on Thursday. Engineering, petroleum products and gems and jewelery exports were worth $8.7 billion, $4.6 billion and $3.5 billion, respectively, the statement said. Oil imports were valued at $11.44 billion, an increase of 37.02 per cent over the same period last year. Non-oil imports too grew 58.12 per cent to $28.98 billion from $18.32 billion in July 2010. Overseas shipments in June this year were worth $29.2 billion, a robust growth of 46.4 per cent yearon-year. Imports too grew by 42.4 per cent to $36.9 billion. However, commerce secretary Rahul Khullar had recently said the high export growth rate is unlikely to sustain in coming months due to uncertainty in the US and European economies. “Exports have done well... But my sense is that it (high export growth) is not going to sustain. It is simply not sustainable. We should see August-September growth rates slipping.” Uncertain economic con- Fieo warns of slowdown Making a Point The umbrella body of exports, Federation of Indian Export Organ - isations (Fieo) has hailed the robust export numbers for July but cautioned that the industry might not be able to sustain high growth in the face of global uncertainties and rising interest rates in the domestic context. “The growth of 81 per cent in exports, on a not-so-low base of July 2010, is unh - eard of in the recent history,” Fieo president Ramu S Deora said in a statement. He cautioned about the challenges in view of global developments which cannot be ignored as they will have serious bearings on exports in next 2 quarters. ditions in the US and Europe are likely to hit global demand. Together, these countries account for about 35 per cent of Indian exports. During the April-July period, exports grew by 53.98 per cent to $108.34 billion from $70.36 billion during the corresponding period previous year. During the first four months of the fiscal, imports grew by 40 per cent to $151 billion. The trade deficit during the period stood at $42.6 billion. — PTI driven by a robust demand for utility vehicle Innova and its latest products, Etios’ and Liva. General Motors India posted a growth of 14 per cent at 9,050 units, led by good response for Chevrolet Beat Diesel. Mahindra & Mahindra said its domestic sales rose by 31.09 per cent at 35,756 units during the month compared to 27,275 units in the year-ago period. Ford India said its overall sales grew 9 per cent at 8,914 units, benefitting from new Fiesta and compact car Figo. Volkswagen said it sold 6,091 units in India during the month, a growth of 72 per cent over the same month last year. Honda Siel Cars India reported a 25 per cent growth in August at 6,907 units. In the two-wheeler segment, market leader Hero MotoCorp reported 18.61 per cent jump in its total sales for August at 5,03,654 units. TVS Motor Company also posted a 14 per cent growth in sales to 1,94,898 units, while India Yamaha Motor reported a 29.64 per cent increase in total sales to 39,490 units. Shyam Group seeks coal support Our Correspondent Burdwan: Shyam Group of Industries wants coal support from the government in order to complete the first phase of its plant at Jamuria in the Burdwan district of West Bengal. “Coal is the basic raw material for any steel plant, at present we procure coal from the Trans Damodar coal mine, but it can only supply 10 per cent of our requirement, however we are expecting things to shape up by November 2011,” said Bhushan Agarwal, vice-chairman & managing director, Shyam Group, here on Thursday. Its annual coal requirement is around 3 million tonne. The company has already invested about `700 crore in the first phase and aims to complete it by 2013. “The total investment for the phase will be around `1500 crore and around 30 per cent of the funding will come from equity and the balance from debt,” said Aggarwal. The company targets to finish the entire project by 2016. Production capacity after the first phase will be 3.5 lakh tonne. It will produce around 1.1 million tonne once the entire project is over. Shyam Group expects a year-on-year growth of 20 per cent. “We are also going to set up plants in Bihar, Guwahati and Siliguri for which the total investment is around `1,200 crore,” said Aggarwal. � Paul Bulcke (second from left), CEO of Nestle SA, shows a product to Swiss economy minister Johann Schneider-Ammann (second from right) and Kurt Schmidt (R), head of Nestle nutrition, after the inauguration of a new production unit in Konolfingen near Bern on Thursday — Reuters
Kolkata Friday September 2, 2011 www.thebengalpost.com BUSINESS 13 Bids soon to deconstruct Santaldih units Madhumita Mookerji Kolkata: West Bengal Power Development Corporation (WBPDCL) will soon float tenders seeking proposals for deconstruction of its existing four units of 80 mega watt (MW) each at Santaldih to make space for the construction of a single 800-MW super-critical power plant. A highly placed source in the West Bengal power department told The Bengal Post: “We will float tenders in one or two months, seeking proposals for the deconstruction of the four units.” The source also said work on construction of the new thermal power project is not likely to start before at least one year. Though WBPDCL had been exploring options of squeezing in a second unit, the amount of land that will be available will only allow for a single unit at Santaldih. “The decommissioning of the four units, along with some additional land at WBPDCL’s disposal will add up to around 500 acres, where only one, 800 MW unit will be possible,” said the source. It will take around one year to empty out the space through the deconstruction process. Hence, construction work on the 800-MW unit is not likely to start at least before one year. WBPDCL is open to various formats – public-private partnership, joint venture or even a lease model, where an investor can put in his money, set up the project and then exit after 25 years. The sources said any model is suitable as long as it is done efficiently with the least possible cost. Planning Ahead � Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia (R) and PMEAC chairman C Rangarajan releasing a report on efficient management of public expenditure, in New Delhi, on Thursday — PTI OVL to invest $1.5 billion in Iraqi oil block New Delhi: ONGC Videsh, the overseas arm of stateowned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), is likely to invest over $1.5 billion in an Iraqi oil block that was awarded to it by the erstwhile Saddam Hussein regime. “We are nearing finality on the contract for the block-8. It is likely to be signed in the next six months,” an official said. Block-8, located in the western desert in southern Iraq bordering Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, was awarded to OVL in November 2000 by the Saddam Hussein government. However, the government formed after the US invasion of Iraq, sought renegotiation of the contract which has now been concluded. The current regime had initially agreed to sign a production sharing contract (PSC), where OVL would have got ownership of oil it produced from Block-8. But the success of post-war licensing rounds, where global majors committed to develop oilfields for a small fee, has seen Baghdad change track and offer a service contract to OVL. The block already has a discovery and is estimated to hold 645 million barrels of in-place reserves, of which 54 million are recoverable, the official said, adding OVL has committed investing $86 million in two phases of exploration and $1.45 billion in development of the reserves thereafter. The agreement will be a service contract wherein OVL will be paid about 18 per cent rate of return on its investment. The company holds 100 per cent interest in the block. “We are currently agreeing on finer details of the contract,” he said. The exploration and development contract for Block-8 was signed by OVL and Oil Exploration Company of Iraq on November 28, 2000, in New Delhi. — PTI IT attrition to decline despite low wage hike Kailash Rajwadkar Mumbai: Employees of IT companies, who use to hop, skip and jump from one organisation to another, may have to restrain themselves in the next two years despite a lower hike in salaries. “Attrition rates are expected to fall in FY12.We do not expect a double-digit salary hike in FY13 by Indian IT vendors,” said Karan Taurani, an analyst with Khandwala Securities. This will, however, provide a cushion to the EBIT (earnings before interest and tax) margin of the companies. “We expect a lower wage hike for employees in FY13 as the demand in FY12 and FY13 is not expected to be as strong as in FY11,” Taurani said. In the past few years, higher attrition was wit- Factories falter as orders fade London/Singapore: Factory activity worldwide stalled last month as new orders tumbled, a series of surveys showed on Thursday, heightening fears that the global economy may be heading for another recession. The purchasing managers’ indexes showed manufacturing activity contracted in the euro zone for the first time in almost two years in August, a similar trend had been witnessed in South Korea and Taiwan earlier. Britain’s manufacturing sector shrank at its fastest pace in over two years, hurt by a sharp drop in demand for exports. Although China’s official PMI increased slightly, its first rise since March, it also showed the effects of slowing demand in Europe and the US. HSBC’s PMI figure for China, which relies heavily on private companies than the large state-owned enterprises that dominate the government’s PMI report, showed factory activity contracted for a second consecutive month. “The key thing they show is that we are not out of the woods. The economies are very vulnerable to any shock which at this moment in time there are a few of,” said Jeavon Lolay at Lloyds Banking Group. “What is happening in the euro zone is very important and in the US growth has weakened markedly in the last two nessed primarily on the back of high demand for laterals (experienced employees) as a large number of transformational deals were signed by Indian IT vendors. Higher demand for discretionary IT spend also pushed attrition rates. “As a result, going forward, we expect attrition to dip in near term on the back of a moderate growth environment and lower demand for laterals,” Taurani said. “In 2010, there was no wage hike as companies were recovering from the global economic turmoil in the preceding year. Hence, the hike in 2011 was after a gap of one year. As things consolidate, wages are likely to see a process of stabilisation,” said Arun Jain, chairman and CEO, Polaris Software Lab. Attrition surged in 2011 despite a high salary hike quarters. There is a risk of a return to recession.” Markit’s euro zone manufacturing PMI fell to 49.0 in August from 50.4 in July, revised down from a preliminary 49.7, the first time since September 2009 that the index for the sector, which drove a large part of the bloc’s recovery, has fallen below the 50 mark that divides growth from contraction. In a worrying sign for policymakers, the slowdown appears to be spreading. German factories, which have been supporting growth in the bloc, eased off the accelerator and French manufacturing contracted for the first time since July 2009. Around `4,400 crore of investment will be required for a single 800-MW unit, computed at the rate of `5.5 crore per mega watt. Where the controversial Katwa power given by all the top tier Indian IT vendors since demand had witnessed an uptick, analysts said. In the April-June period, Tata Consultancy Services witnessed an attrition rate of 14.8 per cent compared with 14.4 per cent in the preceding quarter. As fears of an economic slowdown grows, Khandwala Securities has cut its revenue estimates for 2011-12 and 2012-13 by 5 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively, for top IT vendors. The company, however, maintains a positive outlook for the IT sector. In August, the Bombay Stock Exchange IT index was down 13.6 per cent while the Sensex was down 9.2 per cent. The IT index has been witnessing a fall since S&P downgraded the US credit rating. Factory activity worldwide stalled last month as new orders tumbled, stoking fears of another recession WBPDCL is open to various formats – public-private partnership, joint venture or even a lease model JSPL open to buy-outs to “The West’s deteriorating growth outlook is becoming an increasingly heavy burden to bear,” said Donna Kwok, an economist with HSBC, which sponsors PMI reports in many Asian countries. Weak growth in the US and Europe has revived worries they will slip back into recession, which would deal a heavy blow to Asia’s export-driven economies. Most advanced economies have already cut interest rates to near zero, and with government finances constrained, policymakers have limited options for spurring stronger growth. The European Central Bank, the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England are all seen retaining their ultra-loose monetary policy for at least another year. That leaves the big emerging economies as the best hope for propping up global growth but they are also struggling. Brazil’s central bank slashed its key interest rate to 12 per cent from 12.5 per cent on Wednesday in a shock decision that it said reflects a mounting global slowdown as well as weaker growth in Latin America’s largest economy. “Asian growth is set to slow more sharply than most expect over the coming months,” Credit Suisse economist Robert Prior-Wandesforde wrote in a note to clients. — Reuters project is concerned, the source said no decision has been taken yet on the additional 500 acres that NTPC requires for setting up the project. NTPC, the country’s largest power producer, is slated to develop the 1,600-MW (800X2) thermal power plant at Katwa but it has made it clear that it will go ahead only after the entire quantum of land required for the project is in place. At present, around 600 acres are in possession of the West Bengal Power Development Corporation (WBPDC). However, about an additional 500 acres are required, for which talks are on with the state government. The source said: “No decision has been taken on the additional land but there’s an option that NTPC itself could procure this additional quantum.” R-Cap, Nippon to drive growth explore tie-up Mumbai/Tokyo: Expanding New Delhi: Naveen Jindalled Jindal Steel and Power (JSPL) on Thursday said it is not averse to acquisitions to drive growth even as its $10.9-billion capacity expansion plans are underway. “Lot of expansions are going on. However, we are open to right kind of steel plant for acquisition,” deputy managing director Sushil Maroo said when asked whether JSPL would follow suit of subsidiary Jindal Power, which has recently evinced interest for acquisition in generation space. Maroo, however, declined to divulge if JSPL was currently considering any steel plant acquisition or has it any war-chest ready for making such a move. JSPL was approached by the then Ispat Industries of Mittals, but it turned down the offer when Naveen’s elder brother Sajjan started making serious efforts to buy the firm. JSPL had acquired Shadeed Iron and Steel of Oman last year. The company has also got development rights for El Mutun Iron Ore Reserves in Bolivia, which has around 20 billion tonne reserve. JSPL plans to set up a 1.7 mtpa steel plant in that country. JSPL operates a 3 mtpa plant at Raigarh in Chhattisgarh. — PTI Sony eyes 30pc turnover growth Our Correspondent Kolkata: Sony India, a major player in the consumer electronics market, is aiming at a 30 per cent growth in turnover in 2011-12. It also expects to notch up business worth around `2,000 crore in the festive season with nearly `245 crore likely to come from the eastern region. “We expect our turnover to grow 30 per cent, at around `7,000 crore in the current fiscal from `5,500 crore last year,” Sunil Nayyar, its partnership with Nippon Life, Reliance Capital on Thursday signed a deal for exploring stake sale in its mutual fund and other businesses to the Japanese major, to which it has already sold 26 per cent equity in the life insurance venture. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed on Thursday in Tokyo between Reliance Capital (R- Cap) chairman Anil Ambani and Nippon Life president Yoshinobu Tsutsui for strengthening the business relationship between the two companies. Earlier this year, Nippon Life had signed a definitive agreement for acquiring a 26 per cent stake in Reliance Life Insurance for `3,062 crore. The deal is currently awaiting regulatory and other approvals. The MoU would entail Nippon Life evaluating various collaboration opportunities, including strategic partnership, across all Reliance Capital-promoted financial businesses, including mutual fund, the company said in a statement. After signing the MoU, Anil Ambani said, “Nippon Life has already agreed to be our partner in the life insurance business, and we see great potential to work together across our other senior general manager, sales, Sony India, said. “Our national sales target during the festive season (August-October) is around `2,000 crore, which will be a growth of 35 per cent over last year. With Durga Puja round the corner, we hope to garner sales of `245 crore from the eastern region, a 48 per cent growth over the corresponding period last year,” Nayyar said, adding that Durga Puja contributes nearly 35 per cent of the company’s total sales from the eastern region. financial services businesses.” Nippon Life’s Yoshinobu Tsutsui said, “We are delighted to have an opportunity to expand our relationship with Reliance, one of the most respected business groups in India.” Nippon Life is a 122-yearold Fortune 100 company, ranked as the seventh largest life insurer in the world and the single-largest private life insurer in Asia and Japan. Its deal with Reliance Life pegged the total valuation of the Indian insurer at about `11,500 crore ($2.6 billion). In addition to life insurance, R-Cap, the financial services arm of Anil Ambaniled conglomerate, has interest in an array of financial sector businesses. These include mutual funds, general insurance, commercial finance, broking, investment banking, wealth management, distribution of financial products, exchanges, private equity, asset reconstruction, among other financial services. — PTI The company has laid out a sales plan for the eastern market, which contributes nearly 12 per cent to its overall sales. It plans to sell around 60,000 units of LCDs/LEDs, 70,000 units of cameras and 15,000 units of laptops in the eastern region during the festivities. With brands like Bravia, Cyber-shot and Vaio under its umbrella, Sony has a market share of 40 per cent, 45 per cent and 15 per cent in the TVs, cameras and laptop segments, which it plans to take up to 45 per cent, 47 per Face Value Oil retailers slash jet fuel prices New Delhi: For the second time in a month, stateowned oil firms on Thursday cut prices of jet fuel, or ATF, in line with softening of rates in the international markets. Aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices at Delhi’s T3 airport was cut by `429 per kilolitre (kl), or 0.75 per cent, to `56,260 per kl, an official of Indian Oil Corp, the nation’s largest fuel retailer, said. Prior to this, the companies on August 16 cut jet fuel rates by `1,156 per kl or about 2 per cent. Jet fuel makes up for 40 per cent of an airlines’ operating cost. ATF in Mumbai, home to the nation’s busiest airport, will cost `446 per kl less at `56,978 per kl from Thursday as against the old price of `57,424 per kl. No comment could be immediately obtained from airlines on the impact of the price reduction on passenger fares. ATF prices vary from airport to airport, depending on the local sales tax or VAT. IOC and its sister public sector retailers, Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL), revise jet fuel prices on the 1st and 16th of every month, based on the average international price in the preceding fortnight. — PTI cent and 20 per cent, respectively, during this peak period. “Over the same period last year, from the eastern region alone we expect a growth of 88 per cent in LCDs/LEDs, 62 per cent in cameras and a 100 per cent growth in laptops,” Nayyar added. The company has increased its marketing investment towards abovethe-line (ATL) and belowthe-line (BTL) activities during Durga Puja to `15 crore compared with `11 crore spent last year. � A model poses with Sony Tablet P (R) and S at a promotional event in Tokyo, on Thursday. Sony’s new tablet computers failed to excite gadget reviewers and analysts who criticised the pricing and quality of the devices, underscoring the battle Sony faces regaining its consumer electronics crown — Reuters
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