HOT FROM THE PRESS

ECONOMY : RBI reintroduces px ceiling on overseas borrowings & also disallows

buybk of FCCBs from Jan'10 with a view to end its quantitative easing measures

RELIANCE IND : Hardy Oil & Gas Plc and partner RIL may drill seven wells at

two gas fields that could mark it as the largest in India with reserves estimated at as much as 20 trillion cubic feet

Dr REDDYs : Co sued by Pfizer to block it from selling the generic version of

anti-cholestrol drug Lipitor

L&T : Co targets to win $1.3bn of orders building nuclear reactors by 2015

TATA MOTORS : media rpts Co in talks to acquire Sumitomo Corp's 53.5% stkae

in Swaraj Mazda (SM IN), deal likely in early 2010

TECH : Japanense media rpts NTT Data Corp plans to acquire Indian IT Cos

BAJAJ AUTO : plans to exit the mass scooter business in next 3 months & hopes

to create an altogether new segment for sporty scooters

SATYAM : agrees to settle case with Upaid for $70mn

PNB : sells 26% stake in its wholly owned housing subsidiary PNB Housing Fin,

to financial services firm Destimoney Enterprises for Rs790mn

SHRIRAM TRANSPORT FIN : plans to raise Rs 10bn thru a QIP to shore up its

capital for maintaining its CAR

ONGC : along with Oil India & Turkish Petroleum likely to bid for Iraq's

Halfaya Oilfield

ESSAR GRP : American Tower Corp set to take a controlling stake in Essar

Telecom Infra in a $350-400mn deal

ELECON ENGINEERING : bags orders worht Rs 290mn from 2 cos in India & Iran

Corporate News – Industry trends

Tata Motors is negotiating to acquire Japanese conglomerate Sumitomo’s 53.5% stake in Swaraj Mazda as it attempts to strengthen its position in the light commercial vehicle or LCV market (ET)

American Tower Corporation is set to take a controlling stake in Essar Telecom Infrastructure in a $350-400 mn deal (ET)

Bajaj Auto launched Pulsar 135 LS bike priced at Rs 51,000 (exshowroom Delhi), the company also announced its decision to exit the scooter segment entirely. (ET)

Mahindra Satyam has agreed to pay $70 mn to UK-based mobile payment services firm Upaid in an out-of-court settlement, ending uncertainty over one of its longdrawn legal liabilities. (ET)

Pfizer sued India’s Dr Reddy’s Laboratories asking a judge to prohibit sales of generic versions of its best-selling anti-cholesterol medicine Lipitor until 2017. (ET)

Upping the ante against RCOM, Tatas, Telenor and other new entrants, who have sought that second generation (2G) spectrum be auctioned only after all operators have a minimum of 6.2 MHz of radio frequencies per circle, Bharti Airtel in its latest salvo has warned that the exchequer will lose upwards of Rs 100 bn, if the demands by these players are accepted (ET)

Shriram Transport Finance Company, which plans to raise Rs 10 bn through a qualified public placement, is learnt to have appointed lead managers to manage the issue. (ET)

Suzlon Energy has secured a Rs 1.92 bn order from Rajasthan State Mines and Minerals Ltd for supplying 31.5 MW of wind turbines. (BL)

Ruias-controlled Essar Oil to seal a deal with Royal Dutch Shell at $1- 1.2 bn for acquiring the global petroleum giant’s three refineries in Europe. (BS)

Hindalco Industries to raise over Rs 45 bn as debt to achieve financial closure for Utkal Alumina Refinery, a new 1.5-mn-tonne per annum project in Orissa. (BS)

Punjab National Bank has sold a 26% stake in its fully owned subsidiary PNB Housing Finance to financial ervices firm Destimoney for Rs0.79 bn (Mint)

Economic/Regulatory development

The RBI reintroduces the price ceiling on overseas borrowings or the maximum rate at which Indian corporates can raise foreign funds. The RBI has also decided to disallow buyback of FCCB with effect from January 2010. (ET)

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