The category average returns from equity-diversified funds has been 14.5 per cent a year over this period. Banking funds, which invest in banking and other financial sector companies, have given returns of 23.66 per cent. Other categories that have done well are fast moving consumer goods, tax planning and hybrid (equity-oriented) funds.
Venture capitals in India, which traditionally invested in urban segments or technology sector, have begun investing in rural-centric technology firms. Avishkaar India Micro Venture Capital Fund, Acumen Fund, and Rural Innovations Network are showing increased focus on rural markets.
On the back of a global meltdown, big-ticket firms may not be flocking at the premier Indian Institute of Technology campuses. IITians, however, have not lost all hope. Many are looking at start-ups for their first jobs.
The proposal to scrap 'indicative portfolios' has arisen because investors have sometimes found deviations of as much as 80 per cent between the indicative and actual portfolios. In some cases, the entire corpus has been invested in a single instrument. Sebi will also consider Amfi's suggestion of a 3 to 6 per cent exit load for FMPs, a minimum tenure of three months and a faster processing of redemption payouts,
Ben Verwaayen, CEO, Alcatel-Lucent, does not consider India as a low-cost destination. Rather he does not like to use the word offshore in the context of India. "If it is just about cost then I would not have been in India but to some other low-cost country. For me, India is a high talent country," he adds. As the person who was heading British Telecom's operations before taking over Alcatel-Lucent, he has pushed over a billion dollar of outsourcing work to India.
The IT industry, which has already taken a hit of more than Rs 500 crore in the second quarter because of the appreciating dollar against the rupee, will now be hit by adverse cross-currency movements even as they attempt to boost the share of revenue from the UK and the Eurozone. Unfortunately, the hit will be despite attempts by software makers to step up hedging in the pound and the euro. The IT industry earns about 60 per cent of its revenue from the US.
Sebi likely to come out with a policy paper soon.
Industry insiders as well as sector experts said that companies are unlikely to miss this opportunity to rationalise bloated boom-time salaries.
In fact, firms like NIIT Technologies and EXL Services are already reaping the benefit of the first- mover advantage with over 20 per cent of their revenues coming from non-linear business in the quarter ended September 30. A non-linear business' focus moves away from the tendency to measure growth on the basis of headcount or the concept that the more the number of people working, the more the revenue.
Though the fund houses have garnered over Rs 1,500 billion from investors, only 8-10 would declare their monthly FMP portfolios till a few months ago. Instead, they gave 'indicative portfolios' and 'indicative returns' to the potential investor. This month, all fund houses declared the portfolios of their schemes because of the half-yearly results. And, to the horror of many investors, the real portfolios were 80-90 per cent different from the 'indicative portfolios.'
India's mid-cap software companies may shed as much as 10 per cent of their workforce as revenues and margins have shrunk owing to a global slowdown, analysts say.
In upmarket areas like Bandra and Khar, the going brokerage is as high as 4 per cent
Indian clean technology businesses are finally catching the attention of investor community. New Ventures India - founded by World Resources Institute and CII-Godrej Green Business Centre - aims to fund 50 entrepreneurs in this segment by 2010 with a target investment of $250 million
Last week was unprecedented in the history of the Indian mutual fund industry-- the net asset values (NAVs) of nearly a dozen liquid-plus funds fell.
Fixed maturity plans, which have garnered Rs 102,133 crore (Rs 1021.33 billion) of average assets under management, are facing the prospect of rising defaults on their investments in the real estate and non-banking financial companies. This implies that if there are redemption pressures from their corporate and retail clients, these FMPs would have to raise cash from other resources to meet the demand.
Prospective home buyers, who are looking forward to discounts this festival season, may be in for a rude shock. According to banking sources, most banks are unlikely to offer any discount.
With India's two leading IT outsourcing companies, Infosys and HCL Technologies, vying to acquire the UK-based consulting firm Axon, SAP implementation is back in focus.
In times like these, when the financial industry is reeling under the pressure of scepticism, communication has become the most important tool for financial services providers. Hence the flood of emails to associates, employees and investors.
In a move to soften the blow of Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy in the Indian stock and asset markets, four banks are set to take over its structured products businesses in India.
The venture, on the lines of Kishore Biyani's Future Ventures India, will focus its investments in the information technology sector, said a source familiar with the development.
