Kochi: Blaupunkt, the world leader in car infotainment and sound, is eyeing a 25 per cent growth in its India business this year thanks to signs of revival in the auto sector.
Last year, the company had garnered a sales revenue of Rs 125 crore through its OEM and after-sales market despite the slowdown affecting OEM sales considerably. However, the company managed the situation by focussing on after-sales service, Lars Placke, CEO and Managing Director, Blaupunkt, told Business Line on the sidelines of a function.
Placke was here to inaugurate the company’s first brand shop in India at Kochi which offers the entire product portfolio.
After drop in sales in 2012-13, he said the auto sector has started picking up this year with a visible improvement in OEM sales which is expected to continue.
Today, the company is infotainment partner of choice to leading passenger car OEs, including VW, Audi, Hyundai, and Suzuki, as well as a number of commercial vehicle providers.
Referring to brand shops, he said it would not only provide a platform for Blaupunkt to display its entire range but be the part of the company’s retail expansion strategy to scale up distribution and reach across the country.
The brand shop enables Blaupunkt to get closer to the customer and the company is aiming to launch 20 more stores in main cities in the next two years. These shops would play the role of a support centre for dealers to get more information on the products rather than offering them a competition, he added.
The company, he said, is developing next generation connected car infotainment platforms that enable multimedia, navigation, smartphone integration, 3G/WiFi connectivity, android applications, CAN base vehicle diagnostics, telematics and driver assistance.
Asked why the company has chosen Kerala to set up its first brand shop, Pankaj Jagwani, Director, Blaupunkt India, said that the State is an important market in retail perspective as the customers are more familiar with high-end products, may be because of their connections with Gulf nations.
Success in my Habit
Monday, July 14, 2014
HLL Lifecare ties up with Tata Memorial Centre
Thiruvananthapuram: HLL Lifecare, a Central public sector undertaking based here, has teamed up with Tata Memorial Centre for constructing a modern women and children cancer hospital at Parel in Mumbai.
The two parties signed a memorandum of understanding whereby they assigned the project management consultancy to the infrastructure development division of HLL Lifecare.
Hadron beam facility
The construction of the Rs 350-crore hospital is expected to be completed within 30 months.
The project will include a hadron beam facility, which an official spokesman said is the first of its kind in India and only the 12th in the world, that offers advanced and precise proton therapy for cancer patients.
Hadrons help irradiate cancerous tumours with lesser damage to surrounding healthy tissues than X-rays are thought to cause in conventional radiation therapy.
Hindustan Lifecare is proud to be associated with Tata Memorial Centre, a spokesman quoted M Ayyappan, Chairman and Managing Director, as saying.
Primary care
Commissioned in 1941, Tata Memorial Centre is among India’s most comprehensive centres for treatment, education, research and prevention of cancer.
It attracts around 43,000 new patients every year from all parts of India and neighbouring countries. Nearly 60 per cent of them receive primary care at the hospital; more than 70 per cent are treated almost free.
At least 1,000 patients report as out patients every day, the spokesman said.
As for HLL Lifecare, its infrastructure development and facility management division provides services in design, engineering, execution and management of healthcare facilities.
Among its clients are the central and various state governments, the National Rural Health Mission, the Employees State Insurance Corporation; Jipmer, Puducherry; medical colleges at Bangalore, Salem and Madurai; and the Kerala University of Health Sciences.
The two parties signed a memorandum of understanding whereby they assigned the project management consultancy to the infrastructure development division of HLL Lifecare.
Hadron beam facility
The construction of the Rs 350-crore hospital is expected to be completed within 30 months.
The project will include a hadron beam facility, which an official spokesman said is the first of its kind in India and only the 12th in the world, that offers advanced and precise proton therapy for cancer patients.
Hadrons help irradiate cancerous tumours with lesser damage to surrounding healthy tissues than X-rays are thought to cause in conventional radiation therapy.
Hindustan Lifecare is proud to be associated with Tata Memorial Centre, a spokesman quoted M Ayyappan, Chairman and Managing Director, as saying.
Primary care
Commissioned in 1941, Tata Memorial Centre is among India’s most comprehensive centres for treatment, education, research and prevention of cancer.
It attracts around 43,000 new patients every year from all parts of India and neighbouring countries. Nearly 60 per cent of them receive primary care at the hospital; more than 70 per cent are treated almost free.
At least 1,000 patients report as out patients every day, the spokesman said.
As for HLL Lifecare, its infrastructure development and facility management division provides services in design, engineering, execution and management of healthcare facilities.
Among its clients are the central and various state governments, the National Rural Health Mission, the Employees State Insurance Corporation; Jipmer, Puducherry; medical colleges at Bangalore, Salem and Madurai; and the Kerala University of Health Sciences.
Keys Hotels to unlock 100 properties in India by 2018
Keys Hotels, a mid-market brand of New York-based proprietary fund, Berggruen Holdings, is aggressively stepping up expansion in the country with plans to have 100 hotels by 2018, up from 36 now, as part of its growth strategy in Asia's third largest economy.
A few days back, it took over the management of Ras Resorts in Silvassa, adding 85 more rooms to its inventory of 1,500 rooms. Keys, in which its MD & CEO Sanjay Sethi too owns a significant equity stake, has been active in India since 2007.
The young hospitality company will use a mix of business models, including the management format, to ramp up the number of properties to 100 in the next five years.
A few days back, it took over the management of Ras Resorts in Silvassa, adding 85 more rooms to its inventory of 1,500 rooms. Keys, in which its MD & CEO Sanjay Sethi too owns a significant equity stake, has been active in India since 2007.
The young hospitality company will use a mix of business models, including the management format, to ramp up the number of properties to 100 in the next five years.
M&A activity in India up 47% to US$ 17.1 billion in 2014
New Delhi: India targeted mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity registered a growth of 47.4 per cent in H1 2014 to touch US$ 17.1 billion, as compared to US$ 11.6 billion in H1 2013, according to a report by Mergermarket.
In the first quarter from January-March 2014, there were M&A transactions worth US$ 3.7 billion only while the next quarter from April-June 2014 saw deals worth US$ 13.4 billion, which accounted for 78 per cent of the total first-half deal value.
The second quarter this year was the most active quarter since the second quarter of 2012. Moreover, there was also an influx of large cap deals compared to the first quarter of this year. Diageo and Vodafone Group provided the largest deals, which resulted in impressive second quarter for inbound activities valued at around US$ 6.3 billion.
The most active sectors in the first two quarters of 2014 were the pharma, medical and biotech sectors, as they accounted for 27 per cent of market share from deals worth US$ 4.6 billion.
In spite of the fact that the industrials and chemicals sector led the industry chart in terms of number of deals, 27 in number, the deal value summed up to just around US$ 0.6 billion, which was down by 61.4 per cent over the corresponding period in the previous year.
The highlight of the first half of this year’s deals was the US$ 3.97-billion Sun Pharma-Ranbaxy deal followed by the Diageo deal where it acquired 26 per cent stake in United Spirits for US$ 3.14 billion and the Vodafone Group’s deal where it acquired 10.97 per cent stake in Vodafone India from Piramal Enterprises for a sum of US$ 1.47 billion.
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) acquiring Dhamra Port in Odisha from Tata Steel and L&T Infrastructure Development Projects (L&T IDPL) and Reliance Industries-Network 18 Media deals were some other major deals as mentioned in the report.
The report also mentioned that Citi topped the financial advisor league table by advising on five deals worth around US$ 8.2 billion, while the top position for the number of deals was clinched by EY which was a part of 13 transactions totaling around US$ 5.2 billion.
In the first quarter from January-March 2014, there were M&A transactions worth US$ 3.7 billion only while the next quarter from April-June 2014 saw deals worth US$ 13.4 billion, which accounted for 78 per cent of the total first-half deal value.
The second quarter this year was the most active quarter since the second quarter of 2012. Moreover, there was also an influx of large cap deals compared to the first quarter of this year. Diageo and Vodafone Group provided the largest deals, which resulted in impressive second quarter for inbound activities valued at around US$ 6.3 billion.
The most active sectors in the first two quarters of 2014 were the pharma, medical and biotech sectors, as they accounted for 27 per cent of market share from deals worth US$ 4.6 billion.
In spite of the fact that the industrials and chemicals sector led the industry chart in terms of number of deals, 27 in number, the deal value summed up to just around US$ 0.6 billion, which was down by 61.4 per cent over the corresponding period in the previous year.
The highlight of the first half of this year’s deals was the US$ 3.97-billion Sun Pharma-Ranbaxy deal followed by the Diageo deal where it acquired 26 per cent stake in United Spirits for US$ 3.14 billion and the Vodafone Group’s deal where it acquired 10.97 per cent stake in Vodafone India from Piramal Enterprises for a sum of US$ 1.47 billion.
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) acquiring Dhamra Port in Odisha from Tata Steel and L&T Infrastructure Development Projects (L&T IDPL) and Reliance Industries-Network 18 Media deals were some other major deals as mentioned in the report.
The report also mentioned that Citi topped the financial advisor league table by advising on five deals worth around US$ 8.2 billion, while the top position for the number of deals was clinched by EY which was a part of 13 transactions totaling around US$ 5.2 billion.
Industrial growth at 19-month high
New Delhi: Industrial production was at a 19-month high, growing 4.7 per cent in May on improved performances across sectors, including the manufacturing, mining and power sectors.
A low base also helped push up the growth figures as industrial production in May 2013 had contracted by 2.5 per cent.
The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) for the April-May period grew 4 per cent over the comparable period last year, according to data released by the Central Statistics Office on Friday.
In April-May 2013 the IIP had contracted by 0.5 per cent. Basic goods, capital goods and consumer goods also posted growth under the use-based classification of industrial performance.
“The rise in industrial production for the second month in a row provides a glimmer of hope that the economy could be bottoming out and recovery could be on the anvil,” CII Director-General Chandrajit Banerjee said.
A low base also helped push up the growth figures as industrial production in May 2013 had contracted by 2.5 per cent.
The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) for the April-May period grew 4 per cent over the comparable period last year, according to data released by the Central Statistics Office on Friday.
In April-May 2013 the IIP had contracted by 0.5 per cent. Basic goods, capital goods and consumer goods also posted growth under the use-based classification of industrial performance.
“The rise in industrial production for the second month in a row provides a glimmer of hope that the economy could be bottoming out and recovery could be on the anvil,” CII Director-General Chandrajit Banerjee said.
Essar Global arm inks pact with Teleperformance
Mumbai: AGC Holdings Ltd, a wholly-owned portfolio company of Essar Global Fund Ltd, has signed an agreement with Teleperformance to sell its outsourcing company Aegis US for $610 million. The company will sell Aegis’s presence in the US, the Philippines and Costa Rica.
It will continue to retain the remainder of the BPO business globally across India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Australia, South Africa, Peru, Argentina, Saudi Arabia and UK (other than in the US, the Philippines and Costa Rica).
“This transaction fits the strategic objectives of Essar Fund in the rapidly growing high quality assets and delivering value creation, in this case through a sale to a high quality strategic player in Teleperformance. This transaction will also yield many synergies and benefits for Aegis’ employees and esteemed customers,” said Uday Gujadhur, Board Member, Essar Capital, fund manager for Essar Global Fund.
The transaction is expected to close during the third quarter of 2014, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. The transaction is not subject to a financing condition.
Post the transaction, Aegis would have operations in 37 locations across 9 countries with more than 37,000 employees.
Aegis US has revenues of about $400 million and has more than 19,000 full-time employees across 16 centres in three countries. It serves premium clients in the US market in various key growing industries such as healthcare, financial services, travel and hospitality.
It will continue to retain the remainder of the BPO business globally across India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Australia, South Africa, Peru, Argentina, Saudi Arabia and UK (other than in the US, the Philippines and Costa Rica).
“This transaction fits the strategic objectives of Essar Fund in the rapidly growing high quality assets and delivering value creation, in this case through a sale to a high quality strategic player in Teleperformance. This transaction will also yield many synergies and benefits for Aegis’ employees and esteemed customers,” said Uday Gujadhur, Board Member, Essar Capital, fund manager for Essar Global Fund.
The transaction is expected to close during the third quarter of 2014, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. The transaction is not subject to a financing condition.
Post the transaction, Aegis would have operations in 37 locations across 9 countries with more than 37,000 employees.
Aegis US has revenues of about $400 million and has more than 19,000 full-time employees across 16 centres in three countries. It serves premium clients in the US market in various key growing industries such as healthcare, financial services, travel and hospitality.
MSMEs allocated Rs. 10,000-crore VC fund
New Delhi: Referring to Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises (MSME) as the ‘backbone’ of the economy, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said his Government proposes to set up a Rs. 10,000-crore venture capital fund intended to be a catalyst to attract private capital. The fund will “provide equity, quasi-equity, soft loans and other risk capital for start-up companies,” he said.
Heeding the long-standing demand of the sector, Jaitley also announced that the definition of MSME would be reviewed to provide for a higher capital ceiling. At present, the ceiling for manufacturing is Rs. 25 lakh for micro enterprises, Rs. 5 crore for small units and Rs. 10 crore for medium enterprises. He said a committee which would include members of the Finance Ministry, the MSME Ministry and the Reserve Bank would be set up to examine the sector’s financial difficulties and will submit its report in three months.
“The revision of the MSME definition for high capital ceiling will enable them to get greater credit from the market, in turn helping them grow and expand,” said R Narayan, Founder and CEO, Power2SME, a B2B buying platform for such enterprises.
The Budget also proposed to offer easier exit norms. “An entrepreneur-friendly legal bankruptcy framework will also be developed for SMES to enable easy exit,” he said. A Rs. 200-crore fund was also announced to promote innovation, entrepreneurship and the agro industry, and also a country-wide district-level Incubation Accelerator Programme to support new entrepreneurial ideas. The Budget also proposed to allocate Rs. 200 crore for setting up six more mega textile clusters in Bareilly, Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), Surat, Kutch (Gujarat), Bhagalpur (Bihar), Mysore (Karnataka) and one in Tamil Nadu.
Further, Rs. 50 crore has been provided for a Trade Facilitation Centre and a Crafts Museum in Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) to promote handloom products. The city is known for its handwoven Banarasi silk sarees, mostly made by Muslimweavers who are now struggling to survive after the entry of cheap Chinese imitations.
Heeding the long-standing demand of the sector, Jaitley also announced that the definition of MSME would be reviewed to provide for a higher capital ceiling. At present, the ceiling for manufacturing is Rs. 25 lakh for micro enterprises, Rs. 5 crore for small units and Rs. 10 crore for medium enterprises. He said a committee which would include members of the Finance Ministry, the MSME Ministry and the Reserve Bank would be set up to examine the sector’s financial difficulties and will submit its report in three months.
“The revision of the MSME definition for high capital ceiling will enable them to get greater credit from the market, in turn helping them grow and expand,” said R Narayan, Founder and CEO, Power2SME, a B2B buying platform for such enterprises.
The Budget also proposed to offer easier exit norms. “An entrepreneur-friendly legal bankruptcy framework will also be developed for SMES to enable easy exit,” he said. A Rs. 200-crore fund was also announced to promote innovation, entrepreneurship and the agro industry, and also a country-wide district-level Incubation Accelerator Programme to support new entrepreneurial ideas. The Budget also proposed to allocate Rs. 200 crore for setting up six more mega textile clusters in Bareilly, Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), Surat, Kutch (Gujarat), Bhagalpur (Bihar), Mysore (Karnataka) and one in Tamil Nadu.
Further, Rs. 50 crore has been provided for a Trade Facilitation Centre and a Crafts Museum in Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) to promote handloom products. The city is known for its handwoven Banarasi silk sarees, mostly made by Muslimweavers who are now struggling to survive after the entry of cheap Chinese imitations.
Budget 2014: FM Arun Jaitley proposes 16 new port projects
Mumbai: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, in its first budget after BJP's victory in May, said India will get 16 new port projects this year, with a focus on their connectivity to the hinterland.
India currently has 13 major ports. Jaitley also reiterated previous government's plan to spend Rs 11,635 crore to develop the phase one of the outer harbour project in VO Chidambaranar Port Trust at Tuticorin.
The FM also said special economic zones will be developed along the existing major ports, Kandla in Gujarat and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in Mumbai.
He said a comprehensive policy will also be announced to promote the struggling shipbuilding industry in India this financial year.
He said India will also develop an inland waterway system in river Ganga from Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh to Haldia in West Bengal, which will be build over the next 6 years at an estimated cost of Rs 4,200 crore.
India currently has 13 major ports. Jaitley also reiterated previous government's plan to spend Rs 11,635 crore to develop the phase one of the outer harbour project in VO Chidambaranar Port Trust at Tuticorin.
The FM also said special economic zones will be developed along the existing major ports, Kandla in Gujarat and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in Mumbai.
He said a comprehensive policy will also be announced to promote the struggling shipbuilding industry in India this financial year.
He said India will also develop an inland waterway system in river Ganga from Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh to Haldia in West Bengal, which will be build over the next 6 years at an estimated cost of Rs 4,200 crore.
FDI cap in insurance raised to 49%
New Delhi: The insurance sector finally had its moment in the sun after the Budget increased the FDI limit in insurance to 49 per cent. After the insurance sector opened up in 2000, both life and general insurance businesses have gone though a series of regulatory changes. Until recently, only few insurance players were profitable.
Also, the lack of valuation benchmarks in the listed space has kept investor interest tepid. But now, many players, both in the life and general insurance space, have turned around and are profitable.
Capital-intensive
With a possible recovery in the economy, and structural changes done with, insurance players are likely to get a leg-up.
The much-awaited increase in the FDI limit in insurance to 49 per cent will help the insurance industry in two ways. One, this help companies access capital more easily, which is huge positive, given that the insurance sector is capital intensive.
Two, this could act as a trigger for listing of insurance players, which will provide a better yardstick to value these companies.
For many conglomerates in the financial services space, their insurance subsidiaries are still undervalued, in spite of accounting for a substantial portion of their earnings.
Valuations
Companies such as Max India, Reliance Capital, Bajaj Finserv and Sundaram Finance will see substantial value unlocking.
For instance, more than 75 per cent of Max India’s value (sum-of-the-parts) valuation comes from the life insurance business. For Bajaj Finserv, 44 per cent of its value comes from the life insurance business and 28 per cent form the general insurance business.
For Reliance Capital, 35 per cen
Also, the lack of valuation benchmarks in the listed space has kept investor interest tepid. But now, many players, both in the life and general insurance space, have turned around and are profitable.
Capital-intensive
With a possible recovery in the economy, and structural changes done with, insurance players are likely to get a leg-up.
The much-awaited increase in the FDI limit in insurance to 49 per cent will help the insurance industry in two ways. One, this help companies access capital more easily, which is huge positive, given that the insurance sector is capital intensive.
Two, this could act as a trigger for listing of insurance players, which will provide a better yardstick to value these companies.
For many conglomerates in the financial services space, their insurance subsidiaries are still undervalued, in spite of accounting for a substantial portion of their earnings.
Valuations
Companies such as Max India, Reliance Capital, Bajaj Finserv and Sundaram Finance will see substantial value unlocking.
For instance, more than 75 per cent of Max India’s value (sum-of-the-parts) valuation comes from the life insurance business. For Bajaj Finserv, 44 per cent of its value comes from the life insurance business and 28 per cent form the general insurance business.
For Reliance Capital, 35 per cen
Five new IITs and five new IIMS will be set up in the states
New Delhi: The Government has announced to set-up five more IITs in the Jammu & Kashmir, Chattisgrah, Goa, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. Similarly, five new IIMs will be set-up in the States of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Bihar, Odisha and Maharashtra. For this, a sum of Rs. 500 crore has been allocated in the Budget. Presenting his Maiden Budget in Parliament here today, the Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley said that the country needs a large number of Centres of higher learning which are world class and accordingly declare to set-up Jai Prakash Narayan National Centre for Excellence in humanities in Madhya Pradesh.
Shri Jaitley announced “Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya New Teachers Training Programme” to infuse new training tools and motivate teachers with an initial corpus of Rs.500 crore. He said that for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan a provision of Rs. 28, 635 crore has been made while for Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan Rs. 4,966 crores have been allocated. The Government will also strive to provide toilets and drinking water in all the girls school in first phase, the Minister added.
To take advantage of the reach of the IT, the Finance Minister allocated a sum of Rs. 100 crore for setting up virtual classrooms as Communication Linked Interface for Cultivating Knowledge (CLICK) and online courses.
Shri Jaitley announced “Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya New Teachers Training Programme” to infuse new training tools and motivate teachers with an initial corpus of Rs.500 crore. He said that for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan a provision of Rs. 28, 635 crore has been made while for Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan Rs. 4,966 crores have been allocated. The Government will also strive to provide toilets and drinking water in all the girls school in first phase, the Minister added.
To take advantage of the reach of the IT, the Finance Minister allocated a sum of Rs. 100 crore for setting up virtual classrooms as Communication Linked Interface for Cultivating Knowledge (CLICK) and online courses.
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