1

+

-

Market Update

* STEEL : India's steel consumption rose by 8% during Apr-Dec 09, buoyed by
strong demand fm automobile and infra sectors.. separately Govt removes
restrictions on imports of HR Coils, earlier in Dec'08 govt required importers
to obtain a licence from the govt

* PHARMA : Japan considering India's demand to open up its over $100bn pharma
mkt to Indian generic, or off-patent, drug producers

* BANKS : rpts Finance Ministry will soon appoint consultants to guide Canara
Bank, Bank of India and Bank of Baroda through bank consolidation.. separately
banks may have to cap charges on issuing drafts, remittances etc as RBI asks
Indian Banks Associaton to chalk out guidelines on reasonable charges

* INFRA : Union Govt approves road projects worth Rs61bn in five States for
upgrading nearly 562 kms of highways.. Separately road transport ministry

wants govt to issue bonds in intl mkts to finance road projects in India

* TELECOM : media rpts successful bidders for the 3G auction will be allowed to
split their payment into two parts.. rpts suggest Fin ministry is of the view
that the govt should get best value for spectrum auction, even if it means a
delay in the process

* DLF : to be broadly divided into 3 units - Devco for all real estate
ventures, Rentco for rent yielding assets like offices and malls & a holding
co dealing with corporate functions

* RELIANCE IND : LyondellBasell's board rejects RIL's new offer but signaled
its open to other bonafide proposals & higher offers for acquisitions

* SBI : scales down its loan growth estimate for the current financial year by
atleast 700bps to 18% in the wake of lower demand for loans.. Chmn says no
immediate need to raise capital.. says CRR hike unlikely in policy review

* L&T : chairman seeks 25% anti-dumping duty on chinese products.. says China
is killing the Indian manufacturing sector

* NOVARTIS : gets patent protection in india for Nilotinib, a blood cancer drug

* SAIL : Steel min planning to set up a special arm to spearheald overseas
acquisition in the mining sector

* BHEL : mgt says unfair to blame it for delays in completion of power projects
as there are several other factors responsible for lag.. says has delivered
80% of its target while pvt sector has managed only 50%.. has orders in hand
worth Rs 1.32bn to be completed in the next 3 yrs

* PIPAVAV SHIP : Setaf SAS of France cancels order worth $36mn


Corporate News – Industry trends

* Banks may soon have to cap the charges on basic services such
as issuing a draft, remittances or for stop-payment instructions;
Faced with a rising number of customer complaints on excessive
charges, the Reserve Bank of India has asked the Indian Banks’
Association to come up with guidelines on what the reasonable charges
should be (BS)

* Swiss drug manufacturer Novartis AG has been granted patent
protection in India for Nilotinib, a superior version of blood cancer drug
Gleevec (imatinib mesylate). It has been engaged in a legal battle with
the government on the latter’s decision to deny patent protection for
Gleevec (BS)

* TVS Motor Company is betting big on its new auto clutch motorcycle
(Jive) and gearless scooter (Wego) as key growth drivers for its twowheeler
business in 2010-11 (BL)

* The government said it would come out with a national
manufacturing policy by June-end to attract overseas investment
and promote industrial activity in all parts of the country (BS)

* The steel ministry is planning to set up a special arm under Steel
Authority of India (SAIL) to spearhead overseas acquisitions,
particularly in the mining sector (BS)

* The Mahindra & Mahindra group said it would enter the motorcycle
segment this year with the launch of an in-house developed bike; The
group, which aspires to be a significant player in the two-wheeler
market, is also working on adding an additional production capacity to
meet future targets (BS)

* Ranbaxy Laboratories has zeroed in on Bangalore-based biotech
company Biovel Life Sciences Pvt Ltd for a takeover bid. The deal size
is said to be around Rs 0.5 bn. (DNA)

* Cement demand picks up in AP; Industry shrugs off Telangana
effect as construction activity continues (BL)

* JAPAN has veered round to considering India’s demand to open up its
over US$100 bn pharmaceutical market to Indian generic, or offpatent,
drug producers after four years of dogged resistance, a
government official involved in the talks said (ET)

* INDIA’S steel consumption rose close to 8% during April-December
2009, over the year ago period, buoyed by strong demand from
automobile and infrastructure sectors, as per the provisional data of
steel ministry (ET)

* The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has got offers
for negative viability gap funding from private sector participants in
nine projects spanning 912.17 km in all. (DNA)

* Essar Group plans to acquire a majority stake in Zambia s stateowned
Indeni Refinery, which has a capacity to refine around 1 million
tonnes per annum (mtpa) of crude. South Africa’s Sasol Ltd is among
the companies vying for the same stake (Mint)

Economic/Regulatory development

* Successful bidders at the upcoming auction of so-called third
generation (3G) mobile phone services will be allowed to split their
payment into two parts: one at the time the winning bids are chosen
and the second when spectrum is finally allocated. (Mint)

* Starting today, investors can trade Nifty derivatives for an
additional hour and five minutes on the Singapore Exchange.
The exchange had announced the extension of trading time on Friday.
With this, Nifty derivatives will be open for trading for 16 hours on the
SGX, from 9:00 am to 1.00 am Singapore time the next day. (DNA)

Commodity/Money Market News

* The Centre may allow Uttar Pradesh millers to sell imported
raw sugar in other states, since it has failed to persuade the Mayawati
government to lift ban on the commodity’s entry to UP (BS)

* The government may extend the deadline for the import of
duty-free white sugar beyond March 31 to augment domestic supply
and curb the rising price of the sweetener, which is inching closer to Rs
50 a kg in Delhi (BS)

International trends

* China’s exports rose in December for the first time in 14 months
and imports surged 55.9% to a record high as the nation powered a
global recovery. Exports climbed 17.7% from a year earlier, the
customs bureau said; the YoY comparisons are affected by declines
from late 2008 as the global credit crisis deepened (BS)

DLF - Latest Price Update
Current Price	301	Day's High	309.4
Change	8.1	Day's Low	300.1
% Change	2.62	Prev. Close	309.1
BHEL - Latest Price Update
Current Price	2440	Day's High	2461.75
Change	21.9	Day's Low	2420
% Change	0.89	Prev. Close	2461.9
SAIL - Latest Price Update
Current Price	203.5	Day's High	205
Change	-1.6	Day's Low	199.2
% Change	-0.78	Prev. Close	205.1
BANKINDIA - Latest Price Update
Current Price	411	Day's High	415
Change	-0	Day's Low	404.5
% Change	-0	Prev. Close	411
RELIANCE - Latest Price Update
Current Price	1009	Day's High	1020.35
Change	1.15	Day's Low	1007.25
% Change	0.11	Prev. Close	1010.15
RANBAXY - Latest Price Update
Current Price	449.9	Day's High	455.65
Change	7.95	Day's Low	441
% Change	1.8	Prev. Close	441.95
BANKBARODA - Latest Price Update
Current Price	764	Day's High	764
Change	29.8	Day's Low	730
% Change	4.06	Prev. Close	734.2
ETC - Latest Price Update
Current Price	261	Day's High	267
Change	1	Day's Low	260.25
% Change	0.38	Prev. Close	260