Wednesday, May 28, 2008

India Inc. at Digital Inspiration

India Inc. at Digital Inspiration

Setback for GST implementation, CST reduction still on hold

Posted: 28 May 2008 02:27 AM CDT

The much awaited common Goods and Services Tax (GST), due to be implemented w.e.f. April 1, 2010, is still mired under confrontation and most likely the date would have to be postponed.

The basic idea behind GST was to bring in a common tax across the country to bring in uniformity in prices and conceive an idea of borderless states for trade. The foundation to GST was the gradual phaseout of CST in four years time from 4% to nil.

While CST was successfully reduced from 4% to 3% from April 1, 2007, but owing to differences between Centre and States over compensation, the move to make it 2% from April 1, 2008 didn't work out and decision is being regularly postponed.

The contention is over the revenue loss to states which is expected to be around Rs.6000 crores. The Central Government wants states to increase VAT on intermediate goods from 4% to 5% and introduce VAT on textiles. However owing to rising inflation and coming elections, no state is willing to buy this argument.

So, it is likely that unless a compromise works out, the issue may get delayed again, which may again call the need for taking hard decision for economic reforms.

Setback for GST implementation, CST reduction still on hold - Digital Inspiration | FAQ | RSS

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Tuesday, May 27, 2008

India Inc. at Digital Inspiration

India Inc. at Digital Inspiration

Firstsource Solutions on sale: Warburg, Blackstone, Carlyle in running

Posted: 27 May 2008 01:05 AM CDT

FirstsourceICICI Bank which has a 26.8% stake in BPO firm, Firstsource Solutions is looking to divest its stake as it feels it derives little synergy from the company.

Other major investors in Firstsource includes Temasek (which also has over 7% stake in ICICI), Metavante (US based banking solution firm) and Sequoia Capital/

As per Economic Times report, BPO firm WNS Holdings (owned by Warburg Pincus) may either merge or acquire Firstsource Solutions by buying out stakes held by ICICI Bank and other PE investors.

However, other PE firms such as Blackstone and Carlyle may play spoilsport and make a counter offer to the deal. As per current market price, the enterprise valuation is around $650 million.

Firstsource has been an active BPO firm by buying out firms globally and diversifying itself into different sectors such as BFSI, medical and telecom.

The reason big PE players are eyeing Indian BPO sector is there is still lot of scope for growth thus paving way for more revenues and consolidation.

Firstsource Solutions on sale: Warburg, Blackstone, Carlyle in running - Digital Inspiration | FAQ | RSS

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Friday, May 23, 2008

India Inc. at Digital Inspiration

India Inc. at Digital Inspiration

Brand Integration on cards for retail majors

Posted: 23 May 2008 04:51 AM CDT

To address the problem of running too many brands and overlapping business operations, two of the biggest retail players, Spencer's and Future Group have decided to reduce the number of brands and store formats.

Future Group is working on integration of two of its group companies, Home Solutions Retail India Ltd (which runs stores such as E-Zone, Home Town, Electronics Bazaar, Furniture Bazaar, Collection-I) and Big Bazaar, its hypermarket chain.

As per ET, E-Zone and Home Town would continue to run as it is while all other smaller formats would be merged with Big Bazaar. The move may then give Big Bazaar a bigger scale before it comes out with its own IPO.

Similarly RPG Group's Spencer's Retail is reducing its number of retail formats from 5 to 2 to avoid confusion among customers with multiple formats.

As a result of this restructuring, Spencer's Super, Spencer's Daily, Spencer's Express and Spencer's Fresh would be rebranded as Spencer's while the hypermart would continue to run under the name 'Spencer's Hyper'.

The move means that there would be 373 Spencer's and 27 Spencer's Hyper in India and all stores would have a uniform look, merchandise and service levels. source

Brand Integration on cards for retail majors - Digital Inspiration | FAQ | RSS

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Tuesday, May 20, 2008

India Inc. at Digital Inspiration

India Inc. at Digital Inspiration

Virtual Debit Cards in India for Shopping Safely on the Internet

Posted: 20 May 2008 12:22 PM CDT

credit-card-india When it comes to shopping online, lot of us don’t feel safe (especially here in India) while sharing our credit card number of the Internet.

PayPal and some US banks offer "disposable credit cards" where the credit card number expires after single-use. You key in the card details on a shopping website, finish the transaction and that credit card number is rendered useless immediately.

Now the Kotak Mahindra Bank in India is also offering these "one time use" Credit Cards Debit Cards that can be used on all websites that accepts VISA cards.

Related: Future Group Credit Cards [for Big Bazaar customers]

Here’s how Kotak Internet cards work - you login to your bank account and generate a new debit card number along with the 3 digit CVV code. You also specify a maximum limit of transaction allowed for that card.

You then open the shopping website, complete your purchase and make the payment via the card you just generated yourself. If you don’t use the card for 48 hours, it will automatically expire. There’s no fee though you need an account at Kotak in order to use the virtual card service.

Kotak Flyer | Kotak Cards | Video Demo

Virtual Debit Cards in India for Shopping Safely on the Internet - Digital Inspiration | FAQ | RSS

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Monday, May 19, 2008

India Inc. at Digital Inspiration

India Inc. at Digital Inspiration

Reliance Industries to setup a real estate fund for retail projects

Posted: 19 May 2008 03:02 AM CDT

Vornado Reliance RetailMaking its foray into real estate and hospitality sector to derive synergy from existing retail operations, Reliance Industries has setup a $1bn real estate fund with Vornado Realty Trust to develop malls and highway shopping centres in India.

The JV may also develop hotel projects on excess floor space on these retail projects. Reliance is also said to be in talks with Four Seasons Hotels and Accor for building hotels in Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

Reliance Industries earlier signed a deal with Nova Chemicals for developing eco-friendly retail buildings. The new real estate fund will have all real estate properties of Reliance Retail which is quite significant considering real estate and its management is the most strategic decision for any retail company.

Vornado has properties in Washington and New York and manages office, retail and merchandise mart. In US, Vornado has big tenants such as Wal-Mart, JC Penny and Macys'.

The JV will strengthen Reliance Retail's plans and give it much needed push to expand itself. The JV may even develop projects for other retailers and corporates too thus providing additional revenue stream for the trust. source

Reliance Industries to setup a real estate fund for retail projects - Digital Inspiration | FAQ | RSS

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Sunday, May 18, 2008

India Inc. at Digital Inspiration

India Inc. at Digital Inspiration

Ranbaxy to adopt 3-tier branding structure

Posted: 18 May 2008 10:24 PM CDT

ReligareThe diversified Ranbaxy group is rebranding three segments of business in which it is present. It is extending the brand 'Religare' to other businesses to adopt a common branding structure.

The healthcare services of the group, SRL Ranbaxy (diagnostic chain) and Fortis Healthworld (pharmacy chain) would be renamed with Religare prefix.

Currently, Religare brand name is used in business of financial services, aviation and IT Services.

With this change of brand name, Ranbaxy would have a 3 brand structure, where the pharmaceutical business would be under 'Ranbaxy' brand, hospitality chain under brand 'Fortis' and all the services companies under 'Religare' brand. source

Ranbaxy to adopt 3-tier branding structure - Digital Inspiration | FAQ | RSS

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Saturday, May 17, 2008

India Inc. at Digital Inspiration

India Inc. at Digital Inspiration

E*Trade exit Investsmart, HSBC joins in

Posted: 17 May 2008 07:16 AM CDT

ILFS InvestsmartMarking its entry into the lucrative broking space of the Indian market, HSBC , through its subsidiary HSBC Securities and Capital Markets (India) is buying out 73.21% stake in broking and investment banking firm, IL&FS Investsmart for around Rs.1000 crore at Rs.200 per share.

HSBC will acquire 43.85% stake from the largest shareholder, E*Trade, Mauritius and 29.36% from IL&FS. HSBC will also pay Rs 82 crore to IL&FS for a 3-year non-compete agreement.

HSBC will also make an open offer for 20% stake and may even eventually delist the company.

IL&FS Investsmart has a handy customer base of 138,000 customers in 133 cities thus giving a good base for HSBC to expand its business.

E*Trade exit Investsmart, HSBC joins in - Digital Inspiration | FAQ | RSS

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Friday, May 16, 2008

India Inc. at Digital Inspiration

India Inc. at Digital Inspiration

Starbucks prepares itself for Indian entry - registers its name in Indian languages

Posted: 16 May 2008 03:17 AM CDT

After its decision to put on hold its Indian entry, coffee chain Starbucks is preparing to enter India by doing all the back end work.

Starbucks has registered its brand name in 10 Indian languages which includes Tamil, Telugu, Punjabi, Bangla, Gujarati and Urdu. The brand registration can be equated to local languages of all the states, where Starbucks may eventually set up its shop.

The decision to register its brand might be prompted due to several cases of similar names coming up. The famous case being the registration of trademark name 'Starstruck' by Shahnaz Husain for its own coffee chain.

Apart from that there are other cased being challenged by Starbucks in Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks.

Considering the potential of Indian market, it won't be a while before Starbucks makes an entry into India. source

Starbucks prepares itself for Indian entry - registers its name in Indian languages - Digital Inspiration | FAQ | RSS

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Tuesday, May 13, 2008

India Inc. at Digital Inspiration

India Inc. at Digital Inspiration

Arvind Mills changes name, focus, strategy

Posted: 13 May 2008 07:10 AM CDT

Arvind MillsTextile major Arvind Mills which has been recently going through a bad patch owing to rising rupee, reducing exports and falling margins is undertaking a business transformation in a bid to become a billion dollar company.

The company has firstly changed its name from ‘Arvind Mills Ltd’ to ‘Arvind Ltd’ with a new logo and identity to reflect a company which is diversified with focus on branded apparel and retail.

The promoters will increase their stake from 34% to 47% and infuse Rs.188 crore capital into the company.

Also, half of the Rs.1400 crore debt which Arvind Ltd has would be repaid by selling off land at Ahmedabad and Bangalore thus positively affecting the company’s profitability.

Arvind is now giving more focus to brands and retail which uptil now contributes 19% of total revenue. It will also move to become an integrated textile player by producing fabric as well as retailing it.

With a combination of its own as well as licensed brands, Arvind aims to become the largest apparel brand in India with focus on Tier II and III cities.

Major empahasis would be on the value store format ‘Megamart’ which is targeted to achieve Rs.1000 crore sales in 3 years. Other than that Arvind plans to setup 250 small format and 30 large format stores by 2012.

The strategy may work out to be rewarding for the company as it has a good portfolio of domestic and international, and has been a established national player. The move also helps it to ward off any risk it faces from the recession in export markets.

Arvind Mills changes name, focus, strategy - Digital Inspiration | FAQ | RSS

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Monday, May 12, 2008

India Inc. at Digital Inspiration

India Inc. at Digital Inspiration

Reliance to use petrol pump space as highway malls

Posted: 12 May 2008 03:13 AM CDT

Highway MallAfter taking a beating in its front-end petroleum retail venture, Reliance Industries is planning to convert the closed outlets into malls and multiplexes.

Of the 1432 outlets closed, 500 are company owned and rest dealer-owned. Reliance plans to develop around 300 dealer owned properties along with its own ones which are situated at strategic locations.

The properties would be developed through Reliance Industrial Infrastructure with an investment of Rs.5,000 crore and includes buying out of some properties owned by the dealers.

The malls would house all the Reliance Retail brands along with its hypermarket formats Reliance Mart and Reliance Super. The multiplexes may be a JV with Manmohan Shetty and Yash Raj Films.

The idea may work out well for the affected dealers and the company too as it will give them a justifiable exit option for their loss making investment.

However, the success of the project may be doubted, as Indian consumers are still not averse to the idea of going out shopping outside the city limits as there are constraints of transport, cost and safety.

Such type of concepts of highway malls is popular in western countries where people go on weekends to shop. But, in Indian context, it would be a while before the concept catches up and it is to be noted that most of the Reliance pumps were situated on highways. source

Reliance to use petrol pump space as highway malls - Digital Inspiration | FAQ | RSS

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Wednesday, May 7, 2008

India Inc. at Digital Inspiration

India Inc. at Digital Inspiration

Mukesh Ambani, Yashraj and Adlabs founder may team up for multiplex foray

Posted: 07 May 2008 10:19 PM CDT

Reliance multiplexAfter the talks of a JV between Reliance Retail and Yash Raj Films for a multiplex foray, there is now talks of Manmohan Shetty, founder of Adlabs Films to team up for a nationwide operation of 500 screens.

It is likely that Manmohan Shetty may quit Adlabs as it is now with ADAG and is also in process of name change. YRF and Shetty will form a company producing movies, games and other shows, and would provide content to Reliance entertainment venture.

The deal is likely to prove a success given all the big names are involved in the venture who have long standing status in their respective fields. Also Yashraj Films would release all its films in its theatres and hedge against its confrontation with other multiplex operators as witnessed recently.

For Mukesh Ambani, it would mean an entry into ADAG’s territory as it aims to become an integrated media player with entry into multiplex, content production and broadcasting business. source

Mukesh Ambani, Yashraj and Adlabs founder may team up for multiplex foray - Digital Inspiration | FAQ | RSS

Viacom18 unveils a new entertainment channel, Colors

Posted: 07 May 2008 11:58 AM CDT

ColorsIn the growing breed of GEC channels in India, another new channel is to be launhced in July called ‘COLORS’. The channel is brought by Viacom18, which is a equal JV between Viacom and Network18.

The channel would be targeted towards mass audience and leverage its existing audience of young adults through their channels MTV, Vh1 and Nick. The tagline of the channel is captured as ‘Jasbaat Ke Rang’ signifying the universal appeal of its programmes.

Colors has unveiled two shows initially called ‘Fear Factor - Khatron Ke Khiladi’, hosted by Akshay Kumar and ‘Mohe Rang De’, a fiction show set on 1942 freedom movement.

Considering successful television ventures of Network18 group like CNBC-TV18, Awaaz, CNN-IBN and IBN7, there are high chances of the channel meeting its target viewership. But competition from established GECs and new players like 9X and NDTV Imagine would make the competition tough but giving wide choices for Indian television viewers.

Viacom18 unveils a new entertainment channel, Colors - Digital Inspiration | FAQ | RSS

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