Ranju Sarkar &Amp; Abhijit Lele

Stories by Ranju Sarkar &Amp; Abhijit Lele

Subprime crisis to hit 4 big banks' profits

Subprime crisis to hit 4 big banks' profits

Rediff.com   7 Jan 2008

State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Bank of Baroda and Bank of India are set to book mark-to-market losses on the exposures of their foreign offices to credit derivatives, with the spreads on these widening since international lenders turned risk-averse following the crisis in the US subprime (or high-risk home loan) market. Credit derivatives are instruments for which the underlying asset is a loan or a bond.

SBI top gainer from loan syndication

SBI top gainer from loan syndication

Rediff.com   5 Jan 2008

SBI tops the list of league table banks for fees earned on loan syndication in the Asia Pacific region.

SBI lures CAs, lawyers with hefty pay package

SBI lures CAs, lawyers with hefty pay package

Rediff.com   2 Jan 2008

During the probation period of six months, CAs will get a lump sum payment of Rs 50,000 a month.

Indian banks gain from sub-prime woes

Indian banks gain from sub-prime woes

Rediff.com   26 Dec 2007

The sub-prime mess has presented the foreign units of domestic banks with lucrative investment opportunities. Global banks, struck by a severe liquidity crunch and risk aversion, are selling a lot of their investments in debt of Indian companies at a discount.

The dividends of merchant power

The dividends of merchant power

Rediff.com   22 Dec 2007

An analyst who tracks investments for a Singapore-based foreign institutional investor, said, "The story doing the round in stock market circles is that companies that have been allocated coal blocks can make a lot of money by selling power at merchant rates."

Kingfisher-Deccan merger: Will it work?

Kingfisher-Deccan merger: Will it work?

Rediff.com   21 Dec 2007

With combined accumulated losses of around Rs 2,000 crore (Rs 20 billion), the new entity created by the merger of unlisted Kingfisher Airlines with Deccan Aviation will have many strengths, but its balance sheet will not be one of them.

HDFC Bank files police case on 'money mules'

HDFC Bank files police case on 'money mules'

Rediff.com   19 Dec 2007

The money mule scam has reached Indian shores. Banks have noticed instances of fraudsters based overseas, posing as global payment companies, luring gullible people into joining them as "money transfer agents" and using their bank accounts to route ill-gotten money.

Rupee rise pinches govt projects

Rupee rise pinches govt projects

Rediff.com   18 Dec 2007

The adverse impact of the rupee appreciation has gone beyond exports. The currency's climb is now affecting government infrastructure projects funded by multilateral lending agency such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Urban India, take green lessons from Pune

Urban India, take green lessons from Pune

Rediff.com   17 Dec 2007

The trigger: Like many Indian cities, Pune is bursting at its seams. A boom in IT and services has increased incomes, fuelling a real estate boom that is adding 27 million square foot of space every year. With new automobile units coming up around Pune, the city is exploding and traffic is at its worst.

Indiabulls buys Piramyd Retail

Indiabulls buys Piramyd Retail

Rediff.com   10 Dec 2007

Indiabulls Wholesale Services, the retail arm of Indiabulls Real Estate, has acquired Piramyd Retail, a company owned by the Ashok Piramal Group which runs 35 neighbourhood retail stores and seven lifestyle stores. Indiabulls Wholesale has acquired 63.92 per cent stake in Piramyd Retail at an enterprise value of around Rs 208 crore (Rs 2.08 billion), said sources close to the deal.

Indiabulls plans retail foray

Indiabulls plans retail foray

Rediff.com   27 Nov 2007

After consumer finance and real estate, the Indiabulls Group is set to step into the retail business. Indiabulls Wholesale Services Ltd, a subsidiary of listed firm Indiabulls Real Estate Ltd, will set up 30 hypermarkets across as many smaller cities in the country in the next 15 to 18 months with an outlay of Rs 1,500 crore (Rs 15 billion).

Welspun India turns around 150-year-old Christy

Welspun India turns around 150-year-old Christy

Rediff.com   20 Nov 2007

The UK retailer earned an EBITDA of 2.7 million in the year ended June 2007 on the back of 17 per cent growth in sales, said Welspun India director Akhil Jindal in Mumbai on Monday. Christy's, which was losing money, customers and market share when it was acquired by Welspun, has reversed the tide by winning back customers, adding new ones and expanding its reach by opening more shop-in-shops.

Mumbai: World's 4th most expensive office mart

Mumbai: World's 4th most expensive office mart

Rediff.com   13 Nov 2007

In August this year, ABN Amro Bank decided to renew the lease for its 3,100 sq ft office space at Nariman Point's Sakhar Bhavan, but the landlord dropped a bomshell by jacking up the rental to Rs 500 per sq ft.

Banks cut short-term rates for big cos

Banks cut short-term rates for big cos

Rediff.com   8 Oct 2007

Faced with abundant liquidity and flat credit off-take, banks are reversing interest rate hikes charged to large companies.In the first three months of this fiscal, most blue chips could access loans at a maximum of one to two percentage points below the PLR. Today, short-term loans (that is, for less than one year) for such companies are available between 7.5 and 9 per cent.

Banks set to pare credit targets

Banks set to pare credit targets

Rediff.com   1 Oct 2007

The loan portfolio of banks has grown by Rs 54,908 crore (Rs 549.08 billion) till September 14, representing only 3.6 per cent growth. During the same period last year, banks had lent Rs 147,657 crore (Rs 1,476.57 billion), a rise of 10.5 per cent.

Tata Group shows the way in managing M&As

Tata Group shows the way in managing M&As

Rediff.com   28 Sep 2007

Retaining the senior management of acquired companies has been the cornerstone of the company's strategy, be it in case of Daewoo's commercial vehicle business in South Korea, the tea company Tetley or the steel maker Corus.

The cellphone: Upwardly mobile

The cellphone: Upwardly mobile

Rediff.com   18 Sep 2007

The cell phone is no longer just a communications device -- it has evolved into a lifestyle statement.

Pune's closed factories become a real estate play

Pune's closed factories become a real estate play

Rediff.com   7 Sep 2007

Greaves Cotton, for instance, has converted half its holding into commercial real estate (a multiplex) while Elpro plans to follow suit by developing half its 37-acre land at Chinchwad.

India's subprime market proves a prime opportunity

India's subprime market proves a prime opportunity

Rediff.com   3 Sep 2007

Like the US, India too has a sub-prime market and it is booming. The success of early entrants like Citi Financial and GE Money has encouraged several others to enter the consumer lending business, nearly half of which is a sub-prime market.

What pulls domestic airlines abroad

What pulls domestic airlines abroad

Rediff.com   22 Aug 2007

Even if you assume a higher return fare of Rs 40,000, the yield will still be lower than the costs.