Youtube: It's skippable True-View ad platform. It seems Idea and Lowe Lintas have figured out the code to viral success - the latest 'Ullu Banaaoing' set of films have been deemed the most watched ads for the month of February.
Youtube: It's skippable True-View ad platform. It seems Idea and Lowe Lintas have figured out the code to viral success - the latest 'Ullu Banaaoing' set of films have been deemed the most watched ads for the month of February.
This week Big Bazaar announced the launch of what it is calling India's biggest marketing campaign. Starting 24th March, the retail chain will launch a new ad around a new category every week - for the next one year.
This week Big Bazaar announced the launch of what it is calling India's biggest marketing campaign. Starting 24th March, the retail chain will launch a new ad around a new category every week - for the next one year. The cost of the 52 films is estimated to be above a Rs 100 crore - that's around Rs 2 crore a week. And Big Bazaar says that the investment will help it's business to go up by 30-35 percent.
The group, which currently ranks second in the Indian market behind WPP, has been on an expansion spree with several digital acquisitions in the past couple of years. So what are the group's plans, and where do the opportunities lie? IPG CEO Michael Roth answers some of these questions.
The Interpublic Group or IPG has had a good year, with full year revenues growing almost 4 percent to touch 7 billion dollars. The group, which currently ranks second in the Indian market behind WPP, has been on an expansion spree with several digital acquisitions in the past couple of years. So what are the group's plans, and where do the opportunities lie? We met IPG CEO Michael Roth for the answers.
Despite the credibility crisis faced by creative awards, the week saw the launch of another set of advertising awards. The independent, non-for-profit Kyoorius and D&AD came together to launch the Kyoorius Advertising Awards promising transparency, neutrality and a zero tolerance to scam ads.
Despite the credibility crisis faced by creative awards, the week saw the launch of another set of advertising awards. The independent, non for profit Kyoorius and D&AD came together to launch the Kyoorius Advertising Awards promising transparency, neutrality and a zero tolerance to scam ads. Animesh Das finds out if this will work.
Goyal said in India, particularly in Karnataka, iron ore is sold through e-auction. Since the availability is not increasing, the scenario will continue to be the same.
Indian steel industry does not import any iron ore, thus a price reduction may not have an impact, feels RK Goyal, MD, Kalyani Steel .
"In India, we do not have impact of iron ore prices and the reduction in coking coal and coke prices have been marginal," he said.
Also Read: China's steel sector poised for improvement: Platts
For China or other global players, their manufacturing cost will definitely come down, which may pose a short-term threat for higher dumping in countries like India, Goyal told CNBC-TV18's Ekta Batra and Reema Tendulkar.
He, however, feels this will get corrected shortly. "I feel this may be a short-term negotiation strategy of Chinese steel manufacturers. It is not sustainable," he said.
Metal stocks have seen the most correction in the past two days, though on Wednesday's trade most of them were stable. The iron ore prices have been at a 1.5-year low.
Goyal said in India, particularly in Karnataka, iron ore is sold through e-auction. Since the availability is not increasing, the scenario will continue to be the same.
He expects the domestic steel prices to remain stable up until elections as raw material prices globally are very low.
Speaking on the e-auction, he said the prices of lumpy ore in the last auction were around Rs 5,700-5,800 per tonne. "We definitely require more than 100,000 tonnes of iron ore per month and we are not able to procure that at the current prices. But we are able to operate our plant at around 60-70 percent capacity," he said.
Goyal said that next e-auction is likely in the next few days.
Speaking on the recent cartelisation issue raised by steel producers and iron ore miners, Goyal said the private iron ore miners have now reduced their price from unreasonable levels seen in late January.
Kalyani Steels stock price
On March 12, 2014, at 14:14 hrs Kalyani Steels was quoting at Rs 56.00, down Rs 0.35, or 0.62 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 59.75 and the 52-week low was Rs 31.00.
The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 10.90 per share as per the quarter ended December 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 5.14. The latest book value of the company is Rs 81.22 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 0.69.
SBI Life, the life-insurance arm of State Bank of India, will contest a Rs 275-crore refund order that the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority issued Tuesday in relation with a case of alleged misselling of a group insurance policy, MD and CEO Atanu Sen told CNBC-TV18.
We are appealing against the IRDA order and believe we gave buyers an informed choice.
Atanu Sen
MD and CEO
SBI Life Insurance
SBI Life, the life-insurance arm of State Bank of India, will contest a Rs 275-crore refund order that the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority issued Tuesday in relation with a case of alleged misselling of a group insurance policy, MD and CEO Atanu Sen told CNBC-TV18.
Yesterday, the IRDA had asked the insurer to refund Rs 275 crore, or 44 percent of the Rs 625 crore premium it had collected against issuing Dhanaraksha Plus Limited Premium Paying Term (LPPT) policy.
Several news reports said the product was sold to customers bundled along with State Bank of India's home loans.
The regulator said that between the years 2008-09 and 2010-11, corporate agents mainly belonging to SBI and associate banks sold the policies to customers by charging the second year premium along with the first year's, which resulted in commission payouts of 40 percent and 7.5 percent, respectively, for the two years.
"Had the single premium version of product been offered to the policy holders, the actual commission payable would have been only 2 percent," the regulator said, adding that the insurer had "adopted business practices in violation of prescribed regulatory norms."
The firm's CEO, however, said that the insurer had not violated any norms and that the order would be appeal to the chairman of the IRDA.
The regulator in its order had charged SBI Life of misrepresenting the nature of the policy, paying excess commission to agents and not providing buyers of an informed choice.
"The three charges are interconnected," Sen said. "We are appealing against the third point and believe we gave buyers an informed choice."
He added that IRDA had approved of both products -- the single-premium and two-year premium plans -- and appeared to suggest that the premium collected on the policies was far less than the Rs 625-crore amount that the regulator has mentioned in its order.
SBI stock price
On March 12, 2014, at 14:10 hrs State Bank of India was quoting at Rs 1650.00, down Rs 25.15, or 1.5 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 2469.25 and the 52-week low was Rs 1452.90.
The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 149.34 per share as per the quarter ended December 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 11.05. The latest book value of the company is Rs 1325.34 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 1.24.
The tussle between Maruti and shareholders is now a test case for minority interest shareholder rights that are enshrined in the new Companies Act, says BMR's Mukesh Butani.
Mukesh Butani, chairman, BMR Advisors, managing partner, BMR Legal believes that legal remedy for Maruti will create even more controversies. According to him, it is unlikely that any solution will be reached because now the issue is between minority shareholders, a group of institutions coming together and Suzuki in Japan.
Butani also says that the tussle between Maruti and shareholders is now a test case for minority interest shareholder rights that are enshrined in the new Companies Act.
Domestic fund managers have once again raised concerns over Maruti's Gujarat plant and have written a second letter to the management questioning its decision . Also, the fund managers have questioned the role of independent directors on the Maruti board.
Below is Mukesh Butani's interview with Latha Venkatesh and Sonia Shenoy on CNBC-TV18.
Sonia: What are the legal ramifications that Maruti Suzuki could face going ahead? Someone suggested that the remedy could be to move the Company Law Board and file a case relating to mismanagement and oppression of the minority shareholders but what is your view on what could be the ramifications from hereon?
A: This whole controversy is value erosive for all the shareholders of Maruti Suzuki whether they are institutions, public or even for Suzuki Japan themselves. Legal remedy, if any resorted, will create even more controversies. Let us look at what the three-four important issues are – (1) Sebi's inherent power to allege that interest of shareholders is not taken care of. This is the investor protection clause of the Sebi guidelines (2) Rights, if any, that minority shareholders would have under the Companies Act - this is 1956 Companies Act to allege oppression and mismanagement and carry a plea to the Company Law Board.
I do not think anything will be achieved because at the end of the day this is now an issue between minority shareholders which is a group of institutions coming together and Suzuki in Japan. There are two-four other aspects.
Suzuki Japan is trying to say that they want to create the new plant in Gujarat under the direct ownership of the Japanese company, which means that the value that Maruti Suzuki has created in India, now Suzuki wants to create it out of Japan and that is the reason whether it's the institutions or the independent board directors are seeking a confirmation that any project setup by Suzuki Japan will not be value erosive in so far as Maruti Suzuki is concerned.
Maruti Suzuki has had a long history of successful operations in India, so shareholders and institutions are well within their right to argue that the transfer price between the new plant that is going to be manufactured and the car that will be sold by the listed company is on an arm's length basis and that is confirmation that the independent board is trying to seek – (1) By making sure that there is no markup for the manufactured car selling company and (2) More importantly, the royalties are on an arm's length basis. So, it will be too speculative for anyone to comment at this point in time or to conclude that anything that Suzuki Japan is doing goes against the interest of the shareholders or the institutions or minority shareholders.
It all depends on to what extent Suzuki Japan is able to convince the independent board that they have taken into consideration all the interest and the pricing of the products will work in such a manner that the larger interest of Maruti Suzuki will be protected.
In my view this is a test case for minority interest shareholder rights that are enshrined in the new Companies Act and it will be interesting to see how this development evolves but it is too speculative to comment.
Maruti Suzuki stock price
On March 12, 2014, at 14:14 hrs Maruti Suzuki India was quoting at Rs 1767.10, up Rs 11.20, or 0.64 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 1864.00 and the 52-week low was Rs 1217.00.
The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 106.68 per share as per the quarter ended December 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 16.56. The latest book value of the company is Rs 615.03 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 2.87.
The Coal Mines Officers' Association of India had served a strike notice for three days from March 13 for their demands, including performance-related pay and a new pension scheme, among others, state-owned CIL said in a filing to the BSE.
Coal India , which is already struggling to meet its targets, is likely to see further setback on account of a 3-day strike by company executives.
The Coal Mines Officers' Association of India had served a strike notice for three days from March 13 for their demands, including performance-related pay and a new pension scheme, among others, state-owned CIL said in a filing to the BSE.
The officers want finalisation and payment of performance-related pay pending since 2007, immediate refund of recovered performance-linked pay advance from retired executives, immediate implementation of a new pension scheme and removal of pay anomalies of different grades in general and junior grades in particular, among others, it added.
The proposed strike may affect production and dispatches by about 4 million tonnes of coal. The mining company is expected to fall short of its target of 482 million tonnes for 2013-14 by more than 17 million tonnes.
Speaking to CNBC-TV18's Nigel Dsouza, VP Singh of Coal Mines Officers' Association of India said only one part of the salary promised has been paid, while the remaining parts are still pending with the government and CIL management. Singh said the total pending amount comes to around Rs 200 crore per annum. "They (CIL management) have not regularized the dates, so the people retiring in between are compelled to refund from their terminal benefit. It is very painful," he said.
(Watch video for complete interview)
Coal India stock price
On February 24, 2014, Coal India closed at Rs 252.05, up Rs 0.85, or 0.34 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 334.00 and the 52-week low was Rs 238.35.
The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 26.41 per share as per the quarter ended December 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 9.54. The latest book value of the company is Rs 32.48 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 7.76.
The no-frills airline said its flight 6E031 with 175 passengers, one infant and six crew members made a normal landing this afternoon at Tribhuwan International airport.
An Indigo plane from Delhi with 182 people on board today caught fire after it landed at Kathmandu airport but no one was hurt.
All passengers and crew were safely evacuated from emergency doors soon after the ground engineers observed fire from the right brake assembly of the Airbus 320, officials and the airlines said, adding the fire was immediately brought under control.
The no-frills airline said its flight 6E031 with 175 passengers, one infant and six crew members made a normal landing this afternoon at Tribhuwan International airport.
The ground engineer observed smoke and fire from the right brake assembly and advised evacuation of all passengers and crew, it said.
The airline said 171 passengers were evacuated by the flight chutes and remaining passengers and crew left the plane from the forward step ladder during the evacuation process that lasted 81 seconds.
According to a preliminary inquiry, the sparks occurred due to heavy braking during landing, which could have led to a hydraulic leak, DGCA sources said.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation will be conducting a full fledged inquiry into the matter. The airlines is likely to operate a special flight to bring back the passengers who were supposed to come on the same aircraft.
Indigo Chief of Safety has been rushed to Kathmandu.
"Safety of all passengers and crew is of utmost importance to Indigo and there is absolutely no compromise on safety," Indigo said.
Tamil Nadu is the major beneficiary of power generated from this facility while some of it is supplied to Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Puducherry.
Generation from one of the three units of the Vallur Power plant, jointly set up by NTPC and Tamil Nadu government, near here has been suspended due to shortage of coal, official sources said.
Also Read: High-powered committee for banks to comply Basel III norms
"Power generation has been suspended from the second unit for the last two days. It is mainly due to coal shortage," an official told PTI.
"Power has been generated to about 400MW from the first unit and due to the shortage of coal, work has been suspended from the second unit," he said. Asked about the third unit, he said it was working.
It was expected that the second unit would resume operations soon.
Early in January, both the units of power plant achieved record generation of 24.09 million units of electricity.
National Thermal Power Corporation and state electricity board Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Company (TANGEDCO) formed a joint venture to form "NTPC Tamil Nadu Energy Company" which has three 500MW units at Athipatti village, Vallur near Chennai.
Tamil Nadu is the major beneficiary of power generated from this facility while some of it is supplied to Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Puducherry.
NTPC stock price
On February 25, 2014, NTPC closed at Rs 116.00, down Rs 1.05, or 0.9 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 162.80 and the 52-week low was Rs 113.95.
The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 14.87 per share as per the quarter ended December 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 7.8. The latest book value of the company is Rs 97.49 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 1.19.
