New Delhi, October 28
As part of its plan to invest $10 billion in India in next 10 years, Japanese group SoftBank which has investments in Alibaba and Sprint, announced a $627 million funding in Snapdeal. This is the largest investment by a single investor in an Indian e-commerce company.

Snapdeal, one of India’s largest online companies, has raised close to $1 billion this calendar year. The latest round of funding is from SoftBank, the globally renowned investor in internet companies which include the Alibaba Group. With an investment of 
$627 million, SoftBank is now the leading investor in Snapdeal.

With this, India’s e-commerce play, which has been growing at a scorching pace, gets a further boost.

The Chairman and CEO of the Japanese telecom and internet giant SoftBank, Masayoshi Son, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Telecom and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad yesterday.

Son has said that SoftBank would like to invest approximately $10 billion in India in the coming years and India is the topmost priority for SoftBank.

Expressing immense faith in the great e-commerce potential of India, Son estimated it to become a $0.5 trillion business in the next 10 years. Son told the minister that the growth of e-Commerce would lead to employment generation in India by opening up new avenues. He asked Prasad to develop a robust mobile phone infrastructure and sort out the issues relating to spectrum.

Snapdeal, founded in 2010, has become the fastest growing and largest online marketplace in India with more than 25 million registered users and more than 50,000 business sellers.

Through this strategic investment and partnership with Snapdeal, the SoftBank Group aims to further strengthen its presence in India and leverage synergies with its network of Internet companies around the world.

Masayoshi Son, Chairman and CEO of SoftBank Corp, said, “Since SoftBank’s foundation, our mission has been to contribute to people’s lives through the Information Revolution. We believe India is at a turning point in its development and have confidence that India will grow strongly over the next decade. As part of this belief, we intend to deploy significant capital in India over the next few years to support development of the market.”

Nikesh Arora, vice-chairman of SoftBank Corp and CEO of SIMI, said, “India has the third-largest Internet user base in the world, but a relatively small online market currently. This situation means India has, with better, faster and cheaper Internet access, a big growth potential. With today’s announcement, SoftBank is contributing to the development of the infrastructure for the digital future of India.”

Nikesh Arora, earlier with Google, will be joining the board of Snapdeal as part of this strategic investment by the SoftBank Group.

Kunal Bahl, co-founder and CEO of Snapdeal, said, “Our entire team at Snapdeal is thrilled and honoured to have SoftBank as a strategic partner. With the support of Son-san and Nikesh, we are confident we will further strengthen our promise to consumers and create life changing experiences for one million small businesses in India.”

In July, Snapdeal rival Flipkart had announced a $1 billion funding, the largest to date in the fledgling e-commerce sector. A day later, world’s largest e-tailer Amazon said it would pump in $2 billion to bolster business in India.

Mumbai, October 28
Shares of drug firm Ranbaxy Laboratories today surged over 6 per cent, adding Rs 1,583.17 crore to its market capitalisation, after the company reported consolidated net profit of Rs 477.75 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2014-15.

Ranbaxy’s stock jumped 6.11 per cent to settle at Rs 634.10 on the BSE. In intra-day, the scrip zoomed 7.53 per cent. At the NSE, the stock climbed 5.83 per cent to Rs 633.50.

Following the rally in the stock, the market valuation of the company rose by Rs 1,583.17 crore to Rs 26,922.17 crore.

On the volume front, 9.85 lakh shares of the company changed hands at the BSE, while more than 53 lakh shares were traded at the NSE during the day.

Ranbaxy Laboratories today reported consolidated net profit of Rs 477.75 crore for the second quarter ending September 30, 2014-15, on account of exclusivity sales of Valsartan in US and robust sales in India and Western Europe.

The company had posted net loss after tax, minority interest and share in loss of associates of Rs 454.16 crore for the July-September period of 2013-14, Ranbaxy Laboratories said in a statement.

Consolidated net sales of the company in Q2, 2014-15 were Rs 3,218 crore as against Rs 2,750.17 crore in the year-ago period, it added.

The company’s sales for the quarter in US stood at Rs 1,354.8 crore. Sales were higher in comparison to the corresponding quarter largely due to large contribution to sales from Valsartan in the current quarter, Ranbaxy said. — PTI

New Delhi, October 28
Japanese firm Toshiba Corp today said that it — in collaboration with Electronic Corporation of India — has received an order to supply transportable Doppler weather radar system to India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The radar, the first weather radar that Toshiba will supply to any nation outside Japan, will be installed at Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, in January 2015, Toshiba said in a statement. However, the company did not provide the financial details of the order.

Weather radars track cloud movements and can pinpoint the buildup of potentially threatening systems in real time, the statement added. — PTI

Mumbai, October 28
Shares of JSW Steel ended with a loss of 2 per cent in the backdrop of the CBI registering a Preliminary Enquiry (PE) against unknown officials of the company over alleged diversion of forest land for a mining project in Jharkhand.

JSW Steel’s scrip ended 2.09 per cent lower at Rs 1,208.95 on the BSE. In intra-day, the stock fell 4.63 per cent to Rs 1,180.

At the NSE, it slipped 1.09 per cent to end at Rs 1,220.

The CBI had yesterday registered a PE against unknown officials of JSW Steel Private Limited and the Ministry of Environment and Forests over alleged diversion of forest land for a mining project in Jharkhand.

Sources in the CBI said the clearance for the project for mining in Ankua reserve forest was given in 2013.

The allegation made by the CBI in the PE was that unknown officials of JSW and the Ministry of Environment and Forests entered into a criminal conspiracy for getting approval for this mining activity.

A JSW spokesperson, when asked to comment on the CBI move, had said yesterday, “We are not aware of any such move nor have we received any official communication to this effect.” — PTI

New Delhi, October 28
Country’s largest car-maker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) today launched refreshed version of its popular hatchback Swift with 10 per cent enhanced fuel efficiency, priced between Rs 4.42 lakh and Rs 6.95 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

The model, which was first launched in the country in May 2005, has been re-introduced in both petrol and diesel variants.

“The Swift now comes with improved fuel efficiency of 10 per cent and a rich equipment list like push start button, a 60:40 split rear seat, electric retractable outside mirrors, reverse parking sensor and others,” MSI Executive Director Marketing & Sales, RS Kalsi said in a statement.

With this change, the company retains the DNA of the Swift and yet add features to make the product more exciting, RS Kalsi added.

“The reborn Swift is a tribute to the bestseller of the industry and in line with Maruti Suzuki’s commitment to customers to keep refining our models and win their hearts,” Kalsi said.

The company has sold over 12 lakh Swift cars till date, he added. — PTI