The June quarter turned sour for MindTree as forex losses pushed the company into the red despite logging strong growth in revenues.
A weak monsoon and the subsequent shortage of electricity has pushed Bangalore into an unprecedented fuel crisis.
Muted rupee-term guidance, no upward revision in dollar-term guidance, an uncertain global business environment, forex losses due to over-hedged positions and low volume growth by the top four Indian IT firms this week spooked investors on Friday.
Infosys Technologies generates over 60 per cent of its revenue from the US, which is witnessing a slowdown. A falling rupee did help the company tide over the quarter, and S Gopalakrishnan (popularly addressed as Kris) says that new opportunities, geographies and centres of excellence will have to be balanced against billing cycle delays and other pitfalls of the market.
Firms are flooded with credit crisis-related litigation jobs from American law companies.
Warning bells are ringing on Bangalore's future as a leading BPO destination. It is not a full-blown crisis yet but the portents are disturbing, according to a cross section of industry, human resource and real estate experts.
The premier management institute, Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore, is in a bind. It had asked for Rs 114 crore (Rs 1.14 billion) to build infrastructure to accommodate additional students under the OBC quota.
The rural BPO centre will be established by the Tata Business Support Services -- the BPO wing and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Sons -- in partnership with Tata Steel Rural Development Society -- a corporate NGO managed by the Tata Group for the last 60 years. To start with, it is expected to employ around 200 people. Sources close to the development said the company has already recruited the first batch of the executives for the BPO unit.
Intel Capital, the investment arm of Intel Corp, is seeking further investment opportunities to support its WiMax (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) strategy, since it believes the technology could shake up the wireless data market.
UK and Indian semiconductor industries share potential synergies in the areas of design, device and applications, according to a study by the India Semiconductor Association, a trade body representing the Indian semiconductor industry, the UK Trade & Investment, and Science & Innovation Network UK. ISA president Poornima Shenoy said, "ISA is focused on business support to its members and the Indian semicon community."
Developed by the US Green Building Council, LEED Green Building System aims to promote design and construction practise that increases profitability while reducing the negative environmental impacts of buildings. The Bangalore-headquartered company was working with experts on the subject to employ the latest technologies in every aspect of energy consumption in areas like lighting and air-conditioning, the company said in its annual report filed with the SEC.
Currently, the US contributes 40-45 per cent of the total IT/ITeS outsourcing and offshoring business in India and is the single largest market for India's IT/ITeS business. The real estate sector's growth is fuelled by demand. In India, the demand is derived mainly through shift in global economic conditions. Thus any change in the real economy will have an impact on the physical real estate (construction or ready office space) market.
Blackstone Group, a global private equity player, is set to increase its focus on India. After setting the ball rolling on its corporate private equity and recently starting off its real estate opportunity focus, the company during the past week has set up Blackstone Altius Advisors, an event-driven strategy focusing on opportunities in the Asia Pacific region. Event-driven strategies are those where PEs fund merger and acquisitions or bankruptcies scenario.
With the high net worth individual (HNIs) base growing rapidly in the country, banking institutions and finance corporations are now intensifying their lending operations in the field of aviation.
Wipro, the $5 billion company with interests in IT services, consumer care, lighting and furniture, is entering a new set of businesses which will enable the company to leverage its growth on the clean energy and agriculture sectors. The company is readying a plan to include alternate energy, water treatment, food and agriculture businesses under its infrastructure business - Wipro Infrastructure Engineering Limited.
Ravi Singh aims to empower politicians by effectively planning campaigns using software technology. It's election time, and Ravi Singh, the founder of US-based ElectionMall Technologies, knows what it means to be in India.
Infosys BPO, which started knowledge process outsourcing services as a part of its BPO offerings four years ago, is aiming to make Gurgaon the hub for its KPO business.
HDFC Bank's customers will now be able to enjoy a complete suite of banking and commerce services over their mobile phones with the bank partnering with ngpay, a mobile solution brand from JiGrahak Mobility Solution.
India's third-largest software company, Wipro, has initiated a second round of major business and executive changes within a few weeks. A fortnight ago, the company announced the appointment of Suresh Vaswani and Girish Paranjpe as joint chief executive officers of Wipro Technologies, the company's global IT arm.
STAR India, a wholly owned subsidiary of STAR Hong Kong, is exploring the possibilities of getting into the print media business in India. Last week, top STAR executives including STAR Hong Kong CEO Paul Aiello, STAR India CEO Uday Shankar and COO Jagdish Kumar were in Bangalore for meetings with possible joint venture partners for the print foray. The company is said to be in talks with Vijay Mallya's UB Group.