The Rs 9,500-crore Dharavi makeover may be postponed by a few months as the scheme will have to be amended to increase the size of the flats, to be given to slum-dwellers, from 225 sq ft to 269 sq ft, according to builders close to the development.
HR firm Hewitt Associates, however, estimates average salaries in India rose 15.2 across sectors for 2008-09 in line with the increases last year (15.1 per cent) and better than the year before (14.4 per cent) despite slowdown in many sectors. At 15.5 per cent, salaries of people in junior management (up to seven years) rose the fastest, followed by middle management (seven to 12 years) at 15.2 per cent, senior management (12 years+) at 14.5 per cent.
Indian firms, including Tata Steel, in the past have formed SPVs to acquire foreign companies to protect local operations and also to avoid legal hindrances. The SPV may be registered in a tax-haven country, like Mauritius or Bahamas, the sources said. The move to float an SPV will help Bharti Airtel to continue being listed on Indian stock exchanges, while MTN's promoters will be given a stake in the SPV.
Indian telecom companies are scouting for acquisitions worldwide as part of an ambitious attempt to establish a global footprint. Moreover, the growth momentum needs to be maintained amid the falling average revenue per user (ARPUs) and expected saturation in the domestic subscriber base.
This will pave the way for Kapil Puri to expand Spanco Telesystems, the business process outsourcing and telecommunication services company that he set up after partly exiting Sparsh. Puri is slated to receive around Rs 35 crore (Rs 350 million) from the sale of his stake, which will take place at around Rs 200 per share. This includes a premium as against the existing ruling price of Rs 150 per share.
James Scott, Metro Cash & Carry's regional operating officer (Asia) based in Singapore, virtually lives out of a suitcase. With the regional headquarters in Hong Kong and operations across China, India, Pakistan, and Vietnam, Scott travels through the week and gets back home only on weekends.
Despite the lack of policy and clear allotment of spectrum, the domestic telecom industry is all set to usher in 3G services with service and equipment providers readying infrastructure.
While the M1 Group, which holds 9.8 per cent in MTN, today backed Bharti's bid, Singapore Telecommunications said it has no objection to the acquisition.
At a 20 per cent premium, the South African company is valued at $45-47 billion. The Indian GSM provider is looking to acquire a 51 per cent stake in MTN.
Though the controversy over the security of BlackBerry services is yet to be resolved, the four operators that offer these services - Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar, BPL Mobile and Reliance Communications - have added over 50,000 customers in the four months since the problems began. Before this, the push-mail service, which was introduced in India in October 2004, had 400,000 subscribers according to industry estimates.
GTL Infrastructure (GIL), a subsidiary of telecom network major GTL, has acquired Essar Group's tower company Essar Telecom Infrastructure (ETIPL) for an estimated $1.5 billion (Rs 6,000 crore), according to sources.
GSM service provider Idea Cellular will invest an additional $400 million (Rs 1,600 crore) for rolling out telecom services in four new circles - Mumbai, Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Orissa - for which it has received spectrum from the Department of Telecommunications.
Real estate developers are feeling the liquidity crunch -- the sources of funds are drying up even as they get squeezed from both sides: high interest rates and property prices have hurt offtake while rising steel, cement prices have pushed up input costs 20-25 per cent, which developers have to absorb for now.
Datacom Solutions, promoted by consumer electronic goods maker Videocon Industries, is close to roping in South African telecom major MTN group as a partner for its GSM foray in the country. According to sources, Datacom, which was scouting for a partner to bring in investments and technology, has short-listed MTN. Discussions with the South African company are in the final stage and a deal is expected to be signed soon.
The Delhi-based Parsvnath Developers received $47 million (Rs 186 crore) from twoSaffron Group funds to develop a residential and shopping complex on a now-defunct bus depot at Kurla in central Mumbai. The Mumbai-based Lodha Group got $54 million from a HDFC-sponsored, Mauritius-based fund. The fund will take a 45 per cent stake in a special purpose vehicle, which will develop projects in Hyderabad, Lodha said in Mumbai on Thursday.
The Department of Tele-communications is close to allocating start-up spectrum in seven more circles, in addition to Tamil Nadu, where the process is set to begin next week. According to the telecom ministry's plan, the companies would get 4.4 MHz each and the allocation would be completed within a fortnight.
The Department of Telecommunications is considering a proposal to allocate spectrum, the radio frequencies that enable wireless communications, for third-generation or 3G services to state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd ahead of other operators. The move is expected to frustrate private players since this will give BSNL and MTNL a head-start in rolling out high-value 3G services that offer video calls, music downloads and games.
Experts (forex consultants and CFOs) estimate the notional losses on derivative products in Ludhiana to be Rs 200 crore to Rs 300 crore (Rs 3 billion), with a prominent textile player leading the table. But no company is willing to talk about their exposure or losses. A few companies, such as Vardhman Textiles, part of the S P Oswal Group, said they had no exposure.
With the government issuing 120 more licences to over 10 players that are expected to roll out their networks soon, telecom companies fear a major talent crunch over the next 12 to 18 months. Telecom HRD analysts said attrition rates across levels is expected to go up to 25 per cent from 18 to 20 per cent. Companies expect salaries to jump 15 to 40 per cent, depending on the level, as the great hunt for new recruits takes off.
On March 30, the ICAI asked all companies to disclose and/or provide for all losses on derivative contracts, except for forward contracts where a company needed to comply with accounting standard AS11. So far, Indian companies were not required to declare their gains or losses on derivatives; the ICAI's new accounting standard AS30 required them to reveal these gains or losses from April 1, 2011, a deadline it advanced by three years.
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