Mumbai, October 19
Coal India Ltd's Rs 15,000-crore Initial Public Offering has been over-subscribed today, the second day of the issue, according to data available from the National Stock Exchange.

The issue was oversubscribed by 1.71 times the number of shares with the total number of bids received today crossing 108 crore shares. In all 63.1 crore shares are on offer. The issue is priced between Rs 225 and Rs 245 per share. The IPO will close on October 21 for retail investors and a day earlier for institutional buyers. The issue price will be decided by a Group of Ministers on October 23.

Most of the bids so far have come in from Qualified Institutional Bidders who have bid for more than three times the number of shares earmarked for institutional investors. The offering has received tremendous interest from Foreign Institutional Investors, according to stock exchange data. Response from High Net Worth Individuals and retail investors are tepid so far. Retail investors have so far bid for around 25 per cent of the shares earmarked for them, data showed.

Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Kotak Mahindra Capital, Enam Securities, Deutsche Bank and Bank of America-Merrill Lynch are managers on the offer.

Anil Ambani Group company Reliance Power's public issue, which mopped up Rs 11,500 crore in January 2008, was India's biggest IPO before the ongoing CIL public offer. CIL is the largest coal producer and coal reserve holder in the world, contributing 82 per cent of total coal production in India. The company is expected to list on the exchanges by November 4. 

New Delhi, October 19
Japanese imaging firm Canon today said it aims to achieve a turnover of $1 billion (about Rs 4,600 crore) by 2015 in India on the back of a major retail presence expansion.

The company said it will increase its marketing spend by 25 per cent to Rs 150 crore next year and and will take its total retail presence to 6,000 outlets across the country.

"This year, we are seeing a sales growth of 56 per cent - the highest growth we have achieved...We expect that we will be able to achieve a turnover of $billion by 2015," Canon India Senior VP Alok Bharadwaj said.

Last year, Canon India posted a turnover of Rs 840 crore.

The company expects to clock a turnover of Rs 1,260 crore by this year-end.

Bharadwaj said retail expansion, building its brand image and enhancing its services are some of the top priorities of the company for the next year.

"Around 50 per cent of our revenue comes from Tier II and Tier III towns. We want to increase to about 70 per cent in the next two years," he said. For this year Canon had earmarked Rs 120 crore for marketing spend. At present, Canon cameras are available in 203 towns while its printer business is spread in 415 towns.

Chandigarh, October 19
The near-failure of the debt swap scheme in Punjab and Haryana has forced the Reserve Bank of India to ask banks to relook at the scheme. With both the states asking RBI to initiate steps to popularise this scheme, the State Level Bankers Committees (SLBCs) of both the states has asked the RBI and the IBA (Indian Banks Association) to consider raising the amount sanctioned under the scheme to 
Rs 1 lakh from Rs 50,000.

The issue came up for discussion during the special meeting of the SLBC held under the chairmanship of the RBI Governor, D Subbarao, during his visit to the city last week. Punjab Deputy CM, Sukhbir Singh Badal, requested the RBI chief to raise the limit of the loan to be swapped be raised to Rs 2 lakh.

The RBI Governor said the issue be taken up by the banks at their corporate level and then be discussed in the next SLBC meeting. It was decided that the issue be taken up with the IBA, which in turn can give its recommendations to the RBI. Bankers opined that the debt swap scheme will have to be re-organised so that banks can advance loans to farmers on a short notice, as was being done by the money lenders.

This scheme was introduced to allow the debt ridden farmers across India to swap the debt taken from the money lenders (and other non institutional sources) with loans from banks. Banks in the two states have been given a target to use 3 per cent of the total agriculture advances this year as debt swap.

However, as the limit for the swap loan is low (Rs 50,000), banks in both the states have not been able to meet the targets under this scheme. Figures available from SLBC show that while Punjab has managed to advance just 8 per cent of the target for this fiscal, Haryana has managed to swap debts with bank loans for 14 per cent of the target. 

Geneva, October 19
The number of Internet users will surpass two billion this year, approaching a third of the world population, but developing countries need to step up access to the vital tool for economic growth, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a United Nations agency said on Tuesday.

Users have doubled in the past five years, and compare with an estimated global population of 6.9 billion, the ITU said.

Of 226 million new Internet users this year, 162 million will be from developing countries where growth rates are now higher, the ITU said in a report.

However, by the end of 2010, 71 per cent of the population in developed countries will be online compared with 21 per cent of people in developing countries.

The ITU said it was particularly important for developing countries to build up high-speed connections.

"Broadband is the next tipping point, the next truly transformational technology," said ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Toure, of Mali. "It can generate jobs, drive growth and productivity and underpin long-term economic competitiveness."

Access varies widely by region, with 65 per cent of people online in Europe, ahead of 55 percent in the Americas, compared with only 9.6 per cent of the population in Africa and 21.9 per cent in Asia/Pacific, the ITU said.

Access to the Internet in schools, at work and in public places is critical for developing countries, where only 13.5 per cent of people have the Internet at home, against 65 percent in developed countries, it said. A study last week by another UN agency showed that mobile phones were a far more important communications technology for people in the poorest developing countries than the Internet. — Reuters

London, October 19
Gold prices slipped more than 1 per cent on Tuesday after China said it was raising its benchmark one-year interest rates by 25 basis points, which lifted the dollar to session highs versus a basket of currencies.

Spot gold was bid at $1,355.75 an ounce at 1153 GMT against $1,368.45 late in New York on Monday, having touched a session low of $1,352.25. US gold futures for December delivery fell $15.10 an ounce to $1,357.00.

"Taken together with more exchange rate flexibility, (this) could point to a stronger yuan over the medium term, which will reduce the need for the dollar to fall against other currencies as part of the process of rebalancing," said Matthew Turner, an analyst at Mitsubishi Corp.

"Anything that alters the perceptions of where the dollar and global monetary policy is headed is significant for gold at the moment," he added.

Strength in the U.S. unit usually weighs on gold, as it curbs its appeal as an alternative asset and makes dollar-priced commodities more expensive for other currency holders.

Gold prices hit record highs at $1,387.10 an ounce last week amid concerns over the stability of the currency markets and on expectations for further U.S. quantitative easing which could undermine the dollar.

While they have since corrected, they remain supported above $1,350 an ounce as investors look ahead to a meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee next month.

"Gold is not going to move much lower when you have the FOMC ahead of us in early November, the G20 preparations later this month and the full summit next month," said Credit Agricole analyst Robin Bhar.

"These are all potentially friendly towards the gold market, certainly the FOMC, where it is expected that they will embark on further easing," he said. "We will see that perhaps pushing the dollar lower."

"Obviously we have the currency tensions as well," he added. "With the yen at 15-year high and the Aussie dollar at highs, and emerging market currencies appreciating, gold is seen as something that is a refuge from the currency tensions."

In New York, the world's largest gold exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust , reported another small outflow of just under 1 tonne from its bullion holdings on Monday. Its holdings have declined for nine of the last 15 sessions.

However a drop in bullion prices ignited purchases from Indian jewellers as the festive season progressed, while demand from the electronics sector in Japan failed to offset selling from investors, dealers said on Tuesday. — Reuters

Ludhiana, October 19
Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan are witnessing a spurt in cotton prices. Cotton here is selling at its highest-ever price. Its price has risen 35-40% over last year. Narma is being sold for anything between Rs 4,000 to Rs 4,300 a quintal against Rs 2800 to RS 3200 per quintal last year.

The increase in is being attributed to the Union Government decision to allow the export of 55 lakh bales of cotton, registration of which has already been done with the Textile Commissioner of India. Industry leaders say the decision was taken under pressure from cotton traders.

This price rise is worrying textile mill owners. They say that the textile industry needs 45 lakh bales of cotton by November. The decions to allow exports has meant that it will be very difficult for the mills to get their required supply. This raises the spectre of closure before them, owners say.

D L Sharma, MD, Vardhman Threads, said that the government should regulate and spread the export of cotton to five months to feed the textile mills in the country.

Cotton prices in the international market are also ruling high. The traders want to make hay while the sun shines. The New York future was quoted at 118 cents per pound against 65 cents.

A Tribune study shows that China is the major buyer of India cotton. Because of rise in the prices of cotton, the prices of cotton yarn have also witnessed a spurt, impacting knitwear industry.

It is estimated that the total cotton production this year in the country would be to the order of 325 lakh bales against 295 bales last year. Area under cotton has increased in the states of Maharashtra, Gujrat, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.

Bangalore, October 19
Bajaj Auto, the country’s number two motorcycle maker, posted 69 per cent jump in quarterly profit on Tuesday and demand is expected to remain robust on the back of festivals when sales usually rise.

The maker of top selling motorbikes such as the Pulsar and the 100cc Discover, behind Hero Honda Motors, maintained its target of selling 4 million vehicles this fiscal as production constraints limited output.

Its shares, valued at $9.9 billion, fell 0.6 per cent in a subdued Mumbai market as investors locked in profits after they had run up more than 70 per cent in the year to date.

Analysts said operating margins in the December quarter could come under pressure due to volatile commodity prices.

Bajaj said net profit jumped to Rs 682 crore ($153.6 million) in its fiscal second quarter ended September from Rs 403 crore a year earlier.

"Overall, it has been a good quarter. The margins are better than expected. But sustainability is a question. We have to see if it can maintain these margins in the coming quarters," said Vaishali Jajoo, auto analyst with Angel Broking.

Bajaj said operating margin stood at 20.7 per cent in July-September, up 70 basis points from the June quarter. It stood by its outlook for a 20 pe rcent operating margin for the full year ending March 2011.

"Q3 will again be a good quarter because of festive demand," Jajoo said, referring to Diwali, the festival of lights, when most workers in India get their annual bonuses.

Sales at Bajaj rose almost 50 per cent to Rs 4,181 crore from Rs 2,793 crore last year, while volumes climbed 46 per cent.

BRIEFLY

Basel III to ease in new bank liquidity rules
London: Global banking supervisors agreed on Tuesday to phase in the introduction of a key new global standard on lenders' minimum short-term funding cover, handing further relief to a sector facing a hefty funding gap. The Basel Committee of banking supervisors and central bankers from 27 countries met on Tuesday in South Korea, which is hosting the Group of 20 (G20) leading countries that had called for tougher capital and liquidity requirements in response to the financial crisis. The committee had already agreed to a soft phase-in for its net stable funding ratio, which covers a bank's longer-term liquidity. That measure will be trialled from 2012 and become mandatory in January 2018.— Reuters

Maran acquires more stake in SpiceJet
New Delhi: Spicejet on Tuesday said that Sun TV chief Kalanithi Maran and his firm KAL Airways have bought additional 2.28 per cent equity for Rs 43.58 crore, as part of the June deal to acquire 37.7 per cent. This was an off-market transaction, following which Maran's direct stake in the airline now has increased to 26.20 per cent. — PTI

Punjab Infotech repositions brand
Chandigarh: Punjab Infotech has got an image makeover to match its new brand solution to investors. Its tagline reads “Infinite Opportunities. Simplified”. Rakesh Verma, MD, Punjab Infotech said that they had undertaken brand repositioning to enhance the emerging investment opportunities in Punjab and underline their position as the enablers to simplify the procedures and provide hasslefree one-window service to the entrepreneurs. Punjab Infotech had engaged Ogilvy & Mather to redesign and reposition the corporation to match investors’ expectations and translate the positive perception in the minds of the stakeholders and IT investors, he added. — TNS

Biocon stock soars 13% on Pfizer deal
Mumbai: Biotech major Biocon today settled nearly 13 per cent up on the BSE, after touching all-time high during the day, on reports of its $350 million (Rs 1,550 crore) global marketing deal with the US-based drug firm Pfizer. Reacting positively to the pact, Biocon zoomed 12.97 per cent on BSE, to end the session at Rs 455. — PTI

Airlines’ domestic market share
NEW DELHI: The total number of passengers carried by Indian domestic airlines for the quarter ended September was 119.83 lakh, down 11.08 percent from the quarter ending June, the civil aviation ministry has said.. "The percentage share of the carriers in the third quarter of 2010 was Air India (Domestic) 18.1 percent, Jet Airways - 19.4 percent, Jet Lite - 7.5 percent, Kingfisher - 19.9 percent, Spice Jet - 12.8 percent, Paramount - 0.1 percent, Go Air - 5.7 percent and IndiGo - 16.5 per cent," a statement by civil aviation ministry said. — TNS

Direct tax collections rise 19%
New Delhi: Direct tax collections rose 19 per cent to Rs 1,81,758 crore in the first half of the current fiscal compared to that in the same period last year. "Net direct tax collections during the period April- September 2010 stood at Rs 1,81,758 crore, up from Rs 1,52,625 crore in the same period last fiscal, registering a growth of 19.09 per cent in H1 against the Budgeted annual growth target of 13.67 per cent," an official statement said. — PTI

‘SBI's public bond issue’
Mumbai: State Bank of India's public bond issue was subscribed 17.3 times and the country's biggest lender intends to close the issue on Wednesday versus earlier scheduled October 25, three sources with direct knowledge told Reuters on Tuesday. "These are provisional numbers. We are still counting. The response was very good. So, we intend to close it on Oct 20. But decision has not yet been taken, we have to give notice to investors," said one source. — Reuters