1. OVL to Buy 15% in Rosneft’s Siberian Oilfield for $1.2 bn: TOI
ONGC Videsh (OVL) is set to acquire from Russian oil behemoth Rosneft a 15% stake in the Vankor oil & gas field in eastern Siberia for an estimated $1.2 billion, making it the fourth largest acquisition by the overseas investment arm of India’s flagship explorer ONGC.
Sources said the deal would see OVL get two seats on the board of Vankorneft and 3.3 million tonne of oil per annum. The acquisition received approval of top political leadership of both countries during the July 8 meeting between PM Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of BRICS and SCO summit at the Russian city of Ufa.
Rosneft, the largest publicly-traded oil firm in the world, operates the field through its 100% subsidiary Vankorneft. The field is estimated to hold reserves of 520 million tonne of oil and 95 billion cubic metres of gas. It began production in August 2009.
2. Cipla to Buy Two US Companies for $550 m: TOI
Drug major Cipla has entered into agreements to acquire US-based InvaGen Pharmaceuticals and Exelan Pharmaceuticals, owned by one of the promoters of Hetero Group, in an all-cash transaction of $550 million (approximately Rs 3,652 crore). The deals, done through its UK arm Cipla EU, are subject to certain closing conditions, the company said in a statement.
This acquisition will help Cipla scale up in the US generics market through a wide-ranging product portfolio in CNS, CVS, anti-infectives, diabetes as well as other value-added generics, the company said.
3. Sensex Posts its Biggest Weekly Drop in 4 years: BS
Indian equities slid to near 14-month lows on Friday, with the benchmark indices retreating about 2% and posting their steepest weekly loss in about four years, as caution ahead of the US jobs data spooked global markets.
At 4.5%, the Sensex’s weekly fall was the steepest since November 2011. On Friday, the index lost 2.18%, or 562 points, at 25,201. The Nifty slipped below the psychological level of 7,800 to close at 7,655 points, down 167 points, or 2.15%.
Nervousness ahead of US payrolls data and its impact on the Federal Reserve’s decision to raise interest rates when it meets on September 16-17 kept investors on tenterhooks.
4. Prabhat Dairy Raises Rs 300 Crore Through IPO: ET
The initial public offering (IPO) of Prabhat Dairy has managed to sail through despite weakness in the secondary market.
“Prabhat Dairy has successfully concluded the IPO comprising of a fresh issue aggregating up to Rs 300 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of up to 14,706,000 equity shares,” the company said in a statement.
The company has collected more than Rs 300 crore through fresh issue portion.
5. Lalit Modi Transfers Stake in Godfrey Phillips to Son: BS
After quitting the board of cigarette company Godfrey Phillips in June, former Indian Premier League commissioner Lalit Kumar Modi has transferred his personal stake in the firm to his son Ruchir.
According to a disclosure to the BSE made by Godfrey Phillips on Friday, Lalit Modi transferred his 2,000 shares worth Rs 11.4 lakh (as of Friday) in his name to son Ruchir Kumar Modi as a gift on July 21. Modi is under investigation by the enforcement directorate for alleged financial irregularities while hosting the IPL tournament.
The Modi family owns 46% stake in the company and Philip Morris owns 25.1%. A source in the group said the entire Modi family stake in the company was held through investment companies and trusts.
6. Forex Reserves Fall by $3.43 bn to $351.92 bn: BS
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s foreign exchange (forex) reserves fell by $3.43 billion for the week ending August 28 to $351.92 billion, the steepest fall over one year, data released on Friday showed.
Forex reserves fall by $3.43 bn to $351.92 bn The last time forex recorded such fall was in the week ending August 22, 2014 by $3.8 billion to $318.58 billion.
Foreign currency assets, a key component of, fell $3.4 billion to $328.31 billion. According to currency dealers, the fall was due to interventions by RBI and the change in valuation of the reserves. After China announced devaluation of the yuan last month the rupee weakened sharply.
7. Essar Oil to More than Triple Petrol Pump Count to 5,000: ET
Essar Oil, India’s second largest private oil firm, plans to more than triple its petrol pumps to 5,000 by the end of next year, Chairman Prashant Ruia said.
Essar currently has 1,550 petrol pumps, the highest owned by any private company, and another 1,600 are in various stages of implementation.
“Going forward, our expanding retail network will be a great value creator... Our network is expected to reach 5,000 operational outlets by the end of next year,” he said in the company’s annual report.
8. Air Passenger Traffic Surges 28 % in July: Hindu
India’s domestic air passenger traffic surged by a whopping 28.1% in July 2015 from a year ago, highest among the eight major international markets including China, Russia, Brazil and the US, according to International Air Transport Association (IATA). However, IATA also warned that the current global happenings point to turbulence in coming months.
IATA said the increase in domestic demand was owing to significant increases in service frequencies and improvements in economic growth. As per data, overall domestic travel demand worldwide rose by 7.6% in July 2015 against 6.5% last July.
“All markets showed growth with the strongest increases occurring in India and China,” IATA said. China clocked the second highest passenger traffic growth at 10.9% after India, as per the data.
Guv Rajan Urges Global Economies to Hike Rates, but Not in a ‘Big Bang’: DNA
Under pressure back home to cut rates, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Raghuram Rajan on Friday said global economies witnessing sustainable growth need to hike rates although not in a “one go, big bang” manner and that market volatility concerns should not come in the way of central bank decisions. While Rajan did not name the US or the Federal Reserve, his comments before a grouping of global central bankers and international business community come against the backdrop of the widespread speculation about an imminent rate hike by the US central bank.
He also said that the concerns about market volatility should not come in way of the decision of the central banks. Back in India Rajan is under intense pressure from the government and the industry to further lower the rates, although he has already announced three cuts of 25 basis points each so far in 2015. RBI’’s next monetary policy review is scheduled on September 29.
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