Continuing its inorganic growth strategy, Aegis, the Essar group's business process outsourcing arm, has signed a deal to acquire UCMS Group, an Australian firm, through an all-cash transaction worth AUD 54 million (around Rs 203 crore).
Operators Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone-Essar, Aircel, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd and Idea Cellular might have to fork out over Rs 11,200 crore for having spectrum beyond 6.2 MHz, if the government accepts the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) recommendations.
When the country's largest iron ore producer, NMDC, declares its financial results for 2009-2010, it will report a Rs 1,000-crore drop in net profit. Not on account of last year's slowdown, but Naxalite attacks.
Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) will double offtake of crude oil from Cairn India's Rajasthan fields to 0.4 million tons this fiscal.
Telecom major Vodafone Essar on Monday launched its new bonus card, which will help subscribers send 100 local and national SMS or make local/STD calls for 8 minutes, at a price tag of Rs 4.
The three companies in separate presentations to the Kirit Parikh Committee on fuel pricing suggested immediate freeing of petrol and diesel prices from government control.
CDMA operators on Tuesday slammed a report of the DOT spectrum committee on airwave allocation, saying it is 'highly inclined' in favour of the GSM operators.
The Bombay High Court on Thursday deferred till August 2 the hearing on an appeal filed by Vodafone International challenging income tax department's decision to levy tax on the company for acquiring stake of Hutchison International in Hutchison-Essar in a $11.1 billion deal in February 2007.
Loop Telecom has been looking for a strategic investor for some time now and people close to the development said the telecom operator was willing to sell up to 45 per cent stake in the firm.
These refineries, commissioned mostly in the 1950s and 1960s during India's early industrialisation push, are inefficient and costly to maintain compared to their modern counterparts on the coast mainly operated by private companies.
A little over a year before, when the Hajigak iron ore deposit was put up for grabs, at least five companies - Essar Minerals, JSW Steel, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam, Sesa Goa and Ispat Industries - had evinced interest.
ArcelorMittal, Anglo Australian major Rio Tinto, Hyderabad-based GVK Power & Infrastructure, Essar Mineral Resources and JSW Steel are among 10 prominent corporations in a shortlist to develop 18 abandoned coal mines owned by state-owned Coal India Ltd and its eight subsidiaries.
According to sources, Bharti, Idea and Vodafone Essar have won in some of the circles in the auction that lasted 34 days.
Seeking to assuage fears of big four mobile service providers, including Bharti, of huge payout for excess spectrum telecom regulator TRAI on Thursday said their outgo would be only about Rs 120 billion (Rs 12,000 crore).
The DoT is conducting a special audit on companies that have multiple licences -- mobile, international long distance, domestic long distance and internet service provider among others. Contractor, Nayak & Kishnadwala has been appointed to examine the books of Bharti Airtel, while S K Mehta & Co will check Vodafone-Essar's accounts. Varma & Varma has been appointed as auditors for Tata Teleservices, while Chhajed & Doshi will examine the books of Idea Cellular.
The bid price for 3G spectrum continues to rise as it touched Rs 10,749 crore (Rs 107.49 billion) for pan-India operations on the 21st day of auction, assuring the government of Rs 43,372 crore (Rs 433.72 billion) in terms of revenue.
Flat steel producers -- SAIL, Tata Steel, Essar, Bhushan Steel and JSW -- have increased prices up to Rs 2,000 a tonne on the back of rising demand.
The main reason for the move is the volatility in prices and inconsistent supplies for value-added grades.
Insolvency professionals feel the bankruptcy code will deter defaulters, but NPAs will not cease unless banks are sensitised on credit appraisal and experts are hired by banks to inspect what is happening with their loans.
Under the travel plan, customers can avail roaming rates at 70 paisa per minute while the Ticket plan offers 1.5 paisa per second.
The telecom tower-transmission business is going to see a shake-up with cash-rich and independent companies moving in with aggressive plans.
Sachin Bansal, who had co-founded Flipkart with Binny Bansal in 2007, would exit the company
In the wake of the 2G acquittals, here are a few high-profile cases in which question marks were raised by various courts over the CBI's probe.
Five Indian metals and mining companies are in the race for acquiring mining rights for the largest iron ore deposit in war-torn Afghanistan. The government has shortlisted Vedanta group's Sesa Goa, Essar Minerals, Ispat Industries, JSW Steel and Rashtriya Ispat Nigam for a bid for the 1.8 billion tonne Hajigak iron ore deposit.
After a long wait, Tata Teleservices on Thursday launched the premium Blackberry mobile services that offers customers e-mail, SMS messaging and Internet-based applications.
Essar group, which is buying out the Uganda and Congo assets of Warid Telecom -- a joint venture between the Abu Dhabi Group and Singtel and is present in Kenya, has also reportedly been sounded out by Zain shareholders. A company spokesperson, however, declined to comment on the issue.
Market regulator SEBI on Wednesday imposed a penalty of Rs 17.5 lakh on Delhi-based broker Suresh Bharrat for alleged irregularities in trading of scrip of firms like Essar Oil, Suzlon and Tata Consultancy S in the future and options market.
Mobile Telecommunications Company (Zain), the third largest telecom operator in West Asia and a leading operator in Africa, has initiated talks with several Indian telecom service providers to buy stakes.
With this, Vodafone prepaid customers can now avail 500 free local or national SMS daily with a bonus card of Rs 89 with a validity of 30 days, the company said.
R C Bhargava, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw & Dinesh K Sarraf are other members of the business delegation
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has asked the Department of Telecommunications to reconsider its decision to issue Mumbai-based Loop Telecom an all-India mobile services licence, suggesting the company had links with Essar Group that violate restrictions on telecom cross-holdings by groups.
Investors must be prepared to believe that things will get better eventually, no matter how bad the current situation may look. If you don't possess this optimism, you will not possess the courage to invest and if you don't invest, you don't give yourself any chance to get wealthy, says Devangshu Datta.
Etisalat, which is mulling an Indian foray, has since started discussions with several telecom companies including the Videocon Group's Datacom Solutions and Essar-controlled Loop Telecom for equity. Ravi Sharma, CEO of Datacom confirmed that Etilasat was one of the companies to which the company was talking but declined to offer details. Loop Telecom declined to comment.
Financials were the top losers after sharp gains in the previous session along with ITC
The department had sent a notice to the company seeking details and clarifications on a host of issues besides the original agreement between Hutch and Vodafone to establish the jurisdiction of the tax authorities to determine the tax liability. This follow an SC order in January 2009 to the effect that Vodafone should present its case to the tax authorities first and submit a copy of the share purchase agreement, the deadline for which expires by the end of this month.
Delhi Police Crime Branch raided the office of a petrochemical co.
The cases under scanner include significant loan exposure of the bank to Videocon way back in 2012 and the alleged involvement of the Kochhar family in restructuring of that loan.
Bharti Airtel Ltd led the signings, adding 2.73 million subscribers in February to take its mobile customer base to 91 million. Vodafone Essar Ltd, controlled by Britain's Vodafone, added 2.5 million users in the month, to take its subscriber base to 65 million, data from the Cellular Operators Association of India showed.
GSM operators added 8.89 million subscribers in June, taking the total number of subscribers using the technology to 315.8 million.
While some such as Hindalco, JSW Steel, India Cements, Essar Oil, Tata Steel and Jet Airways have already announced plans to raise a combined Rs 70,000 crore, there are many who are redrawing proposals to enter the market to raise money.
