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TCS, Wipro lift Sensex up 141 pts; RIL down 1.70%
Biz talk
ITC regains top slot in Sensex
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CCEA okays stake sale in Hindustan Zinc
China’s GDP slows down to 14-yr low
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TCS, Wipro lift Sensex up 141 pts; RIL down 1.70%
Mumbai, January 20 Country's largest software services exporter TCS surged 5.53% to emerge as the biggest Sensex gainer of the day. Today's gain to a great extent made up for the huge loss of 5.77% it suffered on the previous trading day despite the company posting robust earnings.
Wipro, which on Friday announced a 27% jump in consolidated net profit for the third quarter, rose 3.77%, the second biggest among Sensex scrips. Reliance Industries (RIL) was the top loser at 1.70% despite market beating earnings for the October-December period. The 30-share indicator touched a low of 21,001.13 in early trade. A sudden buying emerged, mainly in IT stocks, lifting the key index to 21,205.05, a gain of 141.43 points. In the previous two sessions, Sensex had lost 225.87 points. The 50-issue NSE Nifty also rose by 42.30 points to end the day at to 6,303.95. Of the 30 Sensex shares, 16 ended higher while 14 finished with losses. Major gainers included Sesa Sterlite at 2.49%, ITC 1.65%, BHEL 1.26%, SBI 1.17%, M&M 1%. Besides RIL, Coal India at 1.12% and Tata Power at 1.02% were the biggest losers. Among the BSE sectoral indices, IT rose by 2.83% followed by teck 2.50%, FMCG 1.08%, bankex 0.75% and auto 0.72%. Oil & Gas index closed with a fall of almost 1% following a drop in Reliance Industries. Jignesh Chaudhary, Head of Research, Veracity Broking Services, said it was a mixed day of trading in Indian equity markets. They traded a bit weak in early trade on negative Asian stocks, which were reeling under the weak Chinese GDP numbers. "In last of hours of trading shares got revived and ended the day on a strong note, buoyed by some good positive rallies seen in the IT and banking Stocks."
— PTI |
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Havells to expand dealer network in smaller
towns
Anil Rai Gupta Joint MD, Havells India talks to Sanjeev Sharma Havells India is a $1.3-bn fast-moving electrical goods (FMEG) company and a major power distribution equipment manufacturer with a global footprint. Anil Rai Gupta, joint managing director, Havells India, talks about the expanding rural strategy of the company and how it has focused on manufacturing to reduce dependence on imports and new investment plans. Q: What is the rural growth strategy for your company? A: Rural market holds strategic importance to our growth. We have been focusing on this area for some time now and have launched few products. Our research shows that our brand awareness is very strong in the rural areas and small towns and we expect to cater to our consumers directly with our vast range of products. Over the years, we have expanded our reach to almost all towns with over 1 lakh population and have covered a significant number of towns between 50,000 and 1 lakh population. We are now looking to expand our dealer and distribution network to towns with population less than 50,000. By the end of this fiscal, we should be able to cover a large number of these towns. Q: Last year Havells entered into economical range of switches targeted at small towns. What has been the response so far? A: We entered into a new business segment of non-modular switches with brand Reo targeted at the value-conscious consumers in smaller towns and villages. Reo was initially launched in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Bihar but the product is now available across the country. The launch of Reo is part of our long-term growth strategy and a vehicle to penetrate into tier-2 and tier-3 towns where so far we don’t have direct presence. We are witnessing a huge demand of this product since it provides quality, safety and innovative design at an affordable price. Q: What are your plans for expanding the manufacturing base? A: We have been continuously investing in upgrading our facilities. In the last fiscal, we introduced India’s first large-scale lighting fixtures plant at Neemrana, Rajasthan, with an investment of around Rs 100 crore. Recently, we started our pumps plant and in the next few months we will commission water heater plant. Both these plants are located at Neemrana and will entail a total investment of Rs 100 crore. The overall strategy is to expand our reach in various parts of the country and keep launching new and quality products in line with customers’ requirement and changing preferences. Q: These days a lot is talked about China’s manufacturing prowess and how it has captured a big chunk of Indian market across segments. Do you think Havells has successfully countered the Chinese challenge? A: Today, we have a strong manufacturing base offering world-class products, backed by strong R&D. We manufacture quality products that have been well received by our customers. Reduced dependence on imports has helped us during current times of rising dollar and yuan prices. Also, for example, till 2010, the Indian lighting fixtures industry was dependent on imports and small-scale industry as it was reserved by the government. As soon as the government de-reserved this category, we set up our own and India’s first large-scale lighting fixtures plant at Neemrana. The plant has given us the capability to manufacture world-class fixtures with high precision and eliminated our dependence on imports. Similarly, the new pumps and water heater plants will reduce our dependence on imports. Q: What is your strategy to compete with key players who already have strong presence in areas like motor pumps and economical switches where you have recently entered? A: Havells has always entered into new categories despite competition and still created a mark for itself. This was feasible with our value-for-money products. For us, value for money is a combination of quality, value, features and service. Q: What are the revenue projections for the company and any update on overseas acquisitions? A: We expect a growth of about 13-14% in the current financial year. We are not actively looking for any acquisition at present. However, if we come across an opportunity that is strategic to our business, we are open to that. Currently, we are more focused on expanding markets, strengthening brand presence and enhancing our distribution network.
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ITC regains top slot in Sensex
Mumbai, January 20 Shares of ITC ended 1.65% higher at Rs 330.20, while Infosys gained 0.59% to close at Rs 3,749.90 on the BSE. IT major Infosys on Thursday became the Indian stock market's most influential stock in key benchmarks, pushing ITC to the second position. Weight of a stock is measured by the value of a company's free-float or non-promoter shares that can be freely traded in the market. Others in the top five are RIL, Tata Consultancy Services and HDFC.
— PTI |
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CCEA okays stake sale in Hindustan Zinc
New Delhi, January 20 The government sold a majority stake in the nation's largest zinc maker to Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Resources in 2002. It continues to hold a 29.5% stake in the company, which Vedanta sought to acquire. "It has been cleared," Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma told reporters after a meeting of the CCEA headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The decks for the stake sale were cleared following the Attorney General's view that there would be no problems in selling the stake through an auction since HZL is no longer a public sector company.
— PTI |
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China’s GDP slows down to 14-yr low
Beijing, January 20 China’s GDP expanded 7.7% from a year ago, the slowest pace of growth since 1999, official figures said here today. The GDP reached a sizable 56.88 trillion yuan ($9.31 trillion), the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said. The economy's fourth-quarter growth also stood at 7.7%. The figure, however, brought a sigh of relief for the Chinese government as this is the first economic data of the government that assumed power in March last year under the leadership of Xi Jinping.
— PTI |
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Infosys Board member sells shares worth
Rs 7.46 cr Kawasaki launches Z800 bike at
Rs 8 lakh Jet to fly on Mumbai-Paris sector daily from May 14 SAIL plans Rs 60,000-cr expansion in Bokaro MCX-SX begins IRF trade
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Havells India is a $1.3-bn fast-moving electrical goods (FMEG) company and a major power distribution equipment manufacturer with a global footprint. Anil Rai Gupta, joint managing director, Havells India, talks about the expanding rural strategy of the company and how it has focused on manufacturing to reduce dependence on imports and new investment plans.
