Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday said the country's regulatory structure is strong enough to prevent a Satyam-like fraud in future.
The software company has conducted 'mass recruitment' of entry level engineers from top Malaysian universities.
Satyam Computer Services Ltd on Wednesday launched a Global Development Centre in Melbourne, Australia, which is the company's largest centre outside India.
While warning that many key clients and employees have threatened to quit the company due to its bad financial position, the government-appointed board of Satyam Computer also sought CLB's nod for allotment of preferential equity and increasing its authorised capital to Rs 120 crore (Rs 1.2 billion). The petition has been admitted by CLB, which would continue its hearing on Thursday.
Replying to supplementaries during Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha, corporate affairs minister Prem Chand Gupta said while the Serious Fraud Investigation Office under his ministry had been given three-months to wrap up its probe into the Satyam scam, no time-frame has been set for CBI.
Joint audits and inspections by the ICAI/DCA are critical if the system has to work.
Engineering giant Larsen and Toubro, which acquired little over four per cent stake in Satyam in less than a month, is believed to have approached the government on Tuesday, evincing interest to buy the troubled IT company.
The bail petitions of Venkatpati Raju and Srisailam, arrested in connection with the multi-crore rupee Satyam fraud case, were filed in a local court in Hyderabad on Monday.
During the course of the meeting last month, Satyam's then chief financial officer Vadlamani Srinivas informed the board that the valuation of Maytas Properties was done by Ernst & Young, but the global accounting firm disputed the claim. According to the minutes, members noted the imperative of infrastructure foray, particularly based on leveraging on the brand of Satyam to become an eminent player in infrastructure as well.
The government today expanded the three-member Satyam board to six to include S Balakrishnan of Life Insurance Corporation, Tarun Das, chief mentor of the Confederation of Indian Industry and T N Manoharan, former president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday held discussions with Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath and is believed to have reviewed the Satyam issue, a day after the minister came out in support of extending financial help to the beleaguered IT firm.
Former CII president R Sashsayee, Jamshed Godrej of the Godrej Group and Suresh Neotia, Chairman of the Gujarat Ambuja, will be among the small group of industrialists meeting the prime minister. Besides the Satyam saga, the World Bank has initiated action against five Indian entities, including Wipro Technologies, for violating the guidelines of the multilateral lending agency on checking fraud and corruption.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy on Friday said the CB-CID is independently probing the financial fraud in Satyam Computer, as it appeared likely that its founder Ramalinga Raju would be arrested.
The National Stock Exchange on Wednesday removed Satyam from its benchmark index Nifty and the IT firm will be replaced by Reliance Capital with effect from January 12.
It was an unusual sight at Satyam's headquarters in Hitec City on Wednesday. The otherwise lively campus wore a grim and sombre look with high security all around. The only activity witnessed was outside the campus where the media men -- both print and TV -- were parked in full strength hoping to catch a glimpse of the chairman, who reportedly reached office in the morning and announced his resignation from there.
Startled by the disclosure of fudging of accounts by Satyam founder B Ramalinga Raju, market regulator Sebi has ordered a probe into share market operations and inspection of the IT company.
Satyam Computer Services founder B Ramalinga Raju had made trips to the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad, to Visakhapatnam and even the United States, to convince the independent directors on the his board for acquisition of Maytas Infra and Maytas Properties, the two companies promoted by his family members.
In its annual report filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for 2008, Nasdaq-listed SanDisk has stated it is facing risks due to the situation at Satyam, which is the system integrator for installing a new ERP system for the memory disk maker.
The Satyam case is unprecedented in the sense it highlights how a sluggish judicial process has thwarted the efforts of a government authority to attach financial assets of a scam-tainted corporate entity, says Paranjoy Guha Thakurta.
PriceWaterhouse (PW) has said that it resigned as statutory auditor of Satyam Computer Services with effect from February 12, 2009, while stating that it would co-operate with the ongoing investigations into the Rs 7,800-crore (Rs 78 billion) fraud at the IT major.
US market regulator Security and Exchange Commission and Sebi (Securities and Exchange Board of India) are not in favour of a joint investigation into the Satyam case, a top source said.
"Other than the induction of the new board members, Tech Mahindra will have discussions with the management to articulate the growth of the company, strengthen the governance part and also focus on cash-flow issues. The current management members, including CEO A S Murty, will continue for some time," said a source close to the development. Tech Mahindra members are also expected to take stock of operations at Satyam.
Satyam Computer has approached the Company Law Board (CLB) to seek approval for acquisition of IT firm by Tech Mahindra.
The board, whose size was doubled with the induction of three members on Thursday, is likely to elect a new chairman to steer the company out of the financial mess that its founder Ramalinga Raju led it into.
The new Companies Bill, which is likely to be tabled in the Winter Session of Parliament, will contain provisions to rule out a recurrence of the Satyam episode which shattered the confidence of India Inc, Minister of State for Corporate Affairs Salman Khurshid said on Thursday.
Satyam is likely to see its clients as well as employees deserting it soon due to the competitive wooing by rivals and top IT firms like Infosys would continue to shore up their market share, analysts at Forrester Research said in a report. "Many employees told Forrester that it's too early to comment, but they will weigh their options almost on a daily basis," they added.
Ruling out a government takeover of Satyam Computer Services, Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath on said it is corporate India that must respond to the issue of governing business firms.
Satyam's last month's gaffe of transferring funds to promoter group companies by buying stakes in the latter already raised a stink. It led us to doubt the faith that investors had put on a company's management, its independent directors, auditors, consultants and rating agencies.
"There will be some 10,000 IT professionals working out of a total 53,000 at Satyam and we are concerned about their future," state IT minister Debesh Das said in Kolkata on Friday. Meanwhile, Das said the slowdown in IT sector had helped the state government in a way.
The agency was probing the rotation of funds and the role of front companies used in rotation of funds, sources said. They added that the conduct of the regulators was also being probed and, if need be, some officials may also be probed. Experts, including CAs from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India are assisting the CBI in probing the role of regulators in this case.
The Mumbai-headquartered company now has an employee strength of 84,000 serving 540 clients across 46 countries. Its revenues are at $2:7 billion.
In June last year, Tech Mahindra completed acquisition of Mahindra Satyam -- erstwhile Satyam Computer Services -- to become India's fifth largest software services firm. Mahindra is also the Chairman of Tech Mahindra.
Global IT giant IBM is understood to be the front-runner to acquire Satyam Computer Solutions, a company it named as one of its main competitors in a filing to the New York Stock Exchange in February. The US major, said sources close to the developments, has begun discussions with Satyam's government-nominated board and expressed its desire to acquire a majority stake in the company. A team of investment bankers and lawyers from the US and Europe has been brought in.
Satyam Computer Services, a leading global IT services company, on Wednesday signed an estimated $200 million (around Rs 900 crore) five-year contract with California-based Applied Materials
IT major Wipro on Wednesday ruled out taking over scam-hit Satyam Computer or Maytas Infra.
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Ramalinga Raju founded Satyam in 1987.
The country's top life insurer, which has over four per cent stake in Satyam, however, ruled out joining the race for acquiring the troubled IT firm, either alone or with L&T.
Satyam Computer Services Ltd said Giga Information Group named it 'Top choice for SAP support' among offshore service providers.
The Satyam incident did not come as a bolt from the blue for the Bangalore-based IT-BPO union, who had written to the IT industry body Nasscom, the Prime Minister, IT Minister and Ramalinga Raju himself to conduct an inquiry into the affairs of the company in 2008.
IT major Satyam Computer Services Ltd on Monday announced the launch of its development centre in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
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