MUMBAI: Tata Steel said on Friday its unit NatSteel Holdings Pte Ltd has sold 27.03 percent stake in Malaysia's Southern Steel Berhad for $72 million.
The sale is part of the steel maker's strategy to restructure its portfolio and reconsider its position in areas where it does not have majority control, it said in a statement.
The company would continue to explore opportunities to grow in south-east Asian businesses in the future, it added.
Source: Economic Times
Friday, July 16, 2010
TCS pips Infy as the most valued IT company in India
NEW DELHI: Country's top software exporter TCS today toppled its main rival Infosys Technologies as the most valued IT company in the country.
Shares of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) rallied over 6 per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange, taking its market capitalisation to Rs 1.62 lakh crore, higher by Rs 3,470 crore than Infosys' Rs 1.59 lakh crore valuation.
The Tata Group company TCS is now the fourth most valued company in the country. Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries is the most valued firm with market valuation of Rs 3.47 lakh crore as of today, followed by state-run ONGC and NTPC in that order. Infosys is at the fifth place in the top group.
TCS's over 24 per cent rise in April-June quarter profit at Rs 1,906 crore saw it shares surging on BSE. The counter closed up by a whopping 6.16 per cent, the highest among Sensex stocks.
"TCS results were above the street and our expectations. The company has positively surprised us by reporting a strong 6.4 per cent sequential growth in dollar-term revenue," said domestic brokerage firm Sharekhan.
The jump in TCS was infectious and other IT stocks, too, posted smart gains, pushing the BSE IT index about 100 points higher to 5,459. Infosys rose 0.70 per cent and Wipro 0.06 per cent.
"Strong results of TCS are proof of demand momentum for Indian techs and should soothe concerns after the street's disappointment with Infosys performance on account of heightened expectations," Emkay Global Financial Services said in a note.
The improved sentiment helped the Bombay Stock Exchange 30-share index close at 17,955.82, up 46.36 points, or 0.26 per cent.
Source: Economic Times
Shares of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) rallied over 6 per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange, taking its market capitalisation to Rs 1.62 lakh crore, higher by Rs 3,470 crore than Infosys' Rs 1.59 lakh crore valuation.
The Tata Group company TCS is now the fourth most valued company in the country. Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries is the most valued firm with market valuation of Rs 3.47 lakh crore as of today, followed by state-run ONGC and NTPC in that order. Infosys is at the fifth place in the top group.
TCS's over 24 per cent rise in April-June quarter profit at Rs 1,906 crore saw it shares surging on BSE. The counter closed up by a whopping 6.16 per cent, the highest among Sensex stocks.
"TCS results were above the street and our expectations. The company has positively surprised us by reporting a strong 6.4 per cent sequential growth in dollar-term revenue," said domestic brokerage firm Sharekhan.
The jump in TCS was infectious and other IT stocks, too, posted smart gains, pushing the BSE IT index about 100 points higher to 5,459. Infosys rose 0.70 per cent and Wipro 0.06 per cent.
"Strong results of TCS are proof of demand momentum for Indian techs and should soothe concerns after the street's disappointment with Infosys performance on account of heightened expectations," Emkay Global Financial Services said in a note.
The improved sentiment helped the Bombay Stock Exchange 30-share index close at 17,955.82, up 46.36 points, or 0.26 per cent.
Source: Economic Times
Monday, July 12, 2010
US sees 90 bank failures in just 7 months
NEW YORK: The US banking system continues to wobble under financial woes, with 13 banks on an average going belly up every month in 2010.
Notwithstanding the slow economic recovery, more banks are expected to fold up in coming months, especially due to high unemployment rate, which is hovering over nine per cent.
So far this year, 90 banks have been shut down by the authorities, which translates to an average of around 13 failures every month.
Four entities including Home National Bank, Bay National Bank, USA Bank and Ideal Federal Savings Bank, failed on July 9.
According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which insures deposits at over 8,000 banks, these failures would cost the agency more than USD 81 million.
The jobless rate in the world's largest economy stood at 9.5 per cent in June. High unemployment has resulted in rising defaults, primarily hitting small and medium banks.
In May and June, 22 banks bit the dust while the count of collapses had touched 23 in April, the highest for any month this year. Official figures show that 41 banks were closed down in the 2010 first quarter.
Going by the FDIC, the count of 'problem' banks -- those at risk of failing -- climbed to 775, the highest in nearly 17 years, in the first three months of 2010. The figure was at just 702 at the end of last year.
Last year, a whopping 140 banks went out of business. Recently, FDIC chairperson Sheila C Bair had warned of more bank failures since the banking system was facing many problems.
Courtesy: Economic Times
Notwithstanding the slow economic recovery, more banks are expected to fold up in coming months, especially due to high unemployment rate, which is hovering over nine per cent.
So far this year, 90 banks have been shut down by the authorities, which translates to an average of around 13 failures every month.
Four entities including Home National Bank, Bay National Bank, USA Bank and Ideal Federal Savings Bank, failed on July 9.
According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which insures deposits at over 8,000 banks, these failures would cost the agency more than USD 81 million.
The jobless rate in the world's largest economy stood at 9.5 per cent in June. High unemployment has resulted in rising defaults, primarily hitting small and medium banks.
In May and June, 22 banks bit the dust while the count of collapses had touched 23 in April, the highest for any month this year. Official figures show that 41 banks were closed down in the 2010 first quarter.
Going by the FDIC, the count of 'problem' banks -- those at risk of failing -- climbed to 775, the highest in nearly 17 years, in the first three months of 2010. The figure was at just 702 at the end of last year.
Last year, a whopping 140 banks went out of business. Recently, FDIC chairperson Sheila C Bair had warned of more bank failures since the banking system was facing many problems.
Courtesy: Economic Times
Tata Motors: On a new growth trajectory
As the company uses innovative methods to reduce debt and sets itself on a higher growth trajectory, equity dilution can be expected.
As operations of subsidiaries move in line with expectations and the company gets a sales volume boost in the domestic market (it became the second-largest passenger car company in June), Tata Motors sets off on a new growth trajectory.
However, it needs to take care of the debt numbers on its balance sheet. According to a management note, the consolidated net debt-to-equity stands at 3.3:1, and has high cost components. The company had managed to lower its net debt-to-equity from around five times during the previous financial year to the current levels. Subsequently, the interest cost fell 58 per cent to around Rs 103 crore in FY10.
Earlier, the company had issued almost 30 million equity shares in the form of global depository receipts to raise around $375 million. It also raised a similar amount by issuing four per cent convertible notes maturing in 2014. It had also given bondholders, with zero per cent Japanese ¥11,760 million and one per cent $300 million convertible bonds, an option to convert their bonds into ordinary shares during March 23-29. These plans were great successes and the company could extinguish almost $345 million of debt, say analysts.
Going ahead, the company has outlined a Rs 10,000-crore plan for its growth strategy. It is seeking shareholders’ permission to raise Rs 4,700 crore though issue of securities, modalities for which are yet to be finalised. With this, the net worth of the company will improve, allowing it to raise further debt. The company will also be seeking an increase in the borrowing limits to Rs 30,000 crore from Rs 20,000 crore. This, however, might not be able to generate large funds, as it is already near the threshold.
Moreover, as the company gets into another expansionary mode, a 10 to 15 per cent equity dilution is expected in the next few years. However, the company will be in a position to generate better cash inflows from operations this time than the earlier troubled years.
IOC, RIL among 8 Indian cos in Fortune 500 global list
NEW YORK: Eight Indian companies, including oil major Indian Oil Corporation and Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries, have made the cut in the list of the world's 500 largest companies compiled by Fortune.
The league of 500 elite companies for 2010 is topped by US retailer Wal-Mart Stores, followed by oil giant Royal Dutch Shell and another oil major, Exxon Mobil, in that order.
Besides IOC and RIL, the other Indian companies in the list are steel-maker Tata Steel, auto company Tata Motors, oil entities Bharat Petroleum, Hindustan Petroleum and Oil & Natural Gas and public sector bank SBI.
Tata Motors has made an entry into the list for the first time this year, while seven other Indian entities, which were part of the list in the previous year as well, are also featured in this list.
The list also features Citigroup, ArcelorMittal, Pepsico and Motorola, four companies led by people with Indian roots.
Courtesy: Economic Times.
The league of 500 elite companies for 2010 is topped by US retailer Wal-Mart Stores, followed by oil giant Royal Dutch Shell and another oil major, Exxon Mobil, in that order.
Besides IOC and RIL, the other Indian companies in the list are steel-maker Tata Steel, auto company Tata Motors, oil entities Bharat Petroleum, Hindustan Petroleum and Oil & Natural Gas and public sector bank SBI.
Tata Motors has made an entry into the list for the first time this year, while seven other Indian entities, which were part of the list in the previous year as well, are also featured in this list.
The list also features Citigroup, ArcelorMittal, Pepsico and Motorola, four companies led by people with Indian roots.
Courtesy: Economic Times.
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