RIL, NTPC signs gas supply deal

Reliance Industries said on Thursday it has signed gas supply agreements with state-run utility NTPC to supply gas for some of its power plants for five years. Reliance will supply 0.61 million standard cubic metres a day (mscmd) to NTPC, and expects to start supplies within a week. "The quantities and price of gas under the GSPA's signed for five years are as approved by the government," the company said in a statement.

Gujarat NRE - Issue of Securities

Gujarat NRE Coke Ltd has informed that the Board of Directors of the Company at its meeting held on September 24, 2009, inter alia, has decided for: 1. Issue of securities (including Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds) for an amount not exceeding USD 60 million or INR Rs. 300 crores subject to approval of shareholder and other requisite approvals as applicable and 2. Issue of 2,50,00,000 Convertible Warrants to Promoters / Promoter Group Companies on a Preferential / Private Placement basis subject to approval of shareholders and other requisite approvals, as applicable.

13 Indian firms in Forbes Asia's Fabulous 50 list

As many as 13 Indian companies, including Reliance Industries (RIL), Infosys Technologies and Tata Steel, have made it to the list of Forbes' 50 best listed companies in the Asia-Pacific region. "Our list is a mix of giant, established companies this year which includes Australian miner BHP Billiton, Hong Kong conglomerate Noble Group and Indian oil and gas heavyweight RIL — and smaller outfits such as Agile Property Holdings, Anhui Conch Cement and Digital China Holdings," Forbes Asia said in a statement. The Forbes list has four Indian entities — RIL, Bharti Airtel, Infosys Technologies and Tata Consultancy Services — among the top ten firms in terms of market value, while RIL and Tata Steel feature in the top ten league in terms of sales. The Indian league has four newcomers this year — Adani Enterprises, Axis Bank, Jindal Steel & Power and Tata Consultancy Services — and among the Indian firms returning to the list include Bharat Heavy Electricals, Larsen & Toubro and RIL. China has again outdone the rest of the Asia Pacific with the most number of firms (16) represented in the league, followed by India with 13 entities. "The mainland firms together with five from Taiwan and three from Hong Kong account for almost half of the entries, giving Greater China the biggest regional representation on the list," Forbes said. Taiwan moved up the ranking this year and is in the third place with five companies on the list, all of which are from the technology sector. Japan and Australia share the fourth place with four companies each on the list. The list included companies that have revenue and market capitalisation of at least $3 billion and a five year record of operating profitability and return on equity. The other criteria for being in the list include long term profitability, sales and earnings growth, stock price appreciation, projects earnings, quality of management and entrepreneurial skills

Govt considering 10-15% stake sale in Engineers India

Engineers India Ltd said on Thursday the central government is considering a stake sale of up to 15 per cent in the state-run firm. The federal government owns around 90 per cent of the engineering and consultancy firm. "10-15 per cent is what everybody is talking about," Chairman Mukesh Rohatgi told reporters

Govt considering SAIL FPO: Official

The government is considering a follow-on public offer for shares of state-run Steel Authority of India Ltd, a senior company official said on Thursday. "It is going on, under consideration of the government," the official, who declined to be named, told reporters when asked if a public offer was likely. He declined to provide any other details.

Firms may follow ArcelorMittal-Uttam Galva route

Steel giant ArcelorMittal's move to partner domestic firm Uttam Galva may soon become the trend setter for the domestic industry as firms look at mergers and acquisitions as an attractive option to beat slowdown blues, says global advisory services provider Ernst & Young. Post slowdown, metal and mining firms are looking at M&As as a strategy to stay afloat and strengthen their businesses, Ernst & Young said. "The slowdown has created an opportunity for bigger firms to acquire mining assets of the other entities. Also, smaller ones are looking at the M&A opportunity to partner financially sound companies and come out of the gloom," Ernst & Young Risk Advisory Leader, Metals and Mining, Anjani K Agarwal told. Besides, there is always an opportunity through M&A route for global companies "to test local markets," he said. "...Many majors (firms) with strong balance sheets or access to capital markets are taking advantage of lower price environment and fall in asset values to expand, integrate and de-risk their business models," Aggarwal added. Moreover, assessing access to capital and cost reduction as top two risks being faced by the domestic companies in the sector, Agarwal said, "there is an urgent need for the firms to address them to achieve their long-term goals. "Companies are required to address these risks at the earliest and consider reducing operation costs including high grading, re-evaluating the capex program and active cash management...," he added.

Maruti India halts SX4 production

The country's largest car maker, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI), has temporarily stopped production of its mid-sized sedan SX4. According to industry sources, the company stopped its production of the car's current model to change the engine configuration which would be in compliant with the Bharat Stage-IV norms. April 2011 onwards, 11 cities in India are to upgrade to the Bharat Stage-IV emission norms. Maruti Suzuki's SX4 is currently in compliant with only Bharat Stage-III norms. When contacted, an MSI spokesperson said: "We don't comment on specific model production".