Sensex Gains; India Seeks BP Vietnam Stake

Chandrasekhar Atreya
22 Jul, 2010
New York City

Stocks in Mumbai gained led by steelmakers. The latest read on inflation shows a double digit increase. India looks to buy BP stakes in Vietnam. Power Grid gets the ministers nod for 20% stake sale. Dabur is in talks with Turkey

[R]5:00 PM Mumbai, 8:30 AM New York – Stocks in Mumbai gained led by steelmakers. The latest read on inflation shows a double digit increase. India looks to buy BP stakes in Vietnam. Power Grid gets the ministers nod for 20% stake sale. Dabur is in talks with Turkey’s Hobi Kozmetik for acquisition.[/R]

Stocks of India gained for a second day, after losing as much as 0.5% earlier, led by steelmakers JSW Steel Ltd, Jindal Steel & Power Ltd and Tata Steel Ltd.

JSW Steel, India’s third-largest steelmaker gained 0.8% advancing for the sixth day.

The Sensex index in India increased 0.76% or 135.92 to close at 18,113.15 and CNX Nifty index rose 17.80 or 0.33% to 5,417.15. Among the Sensex 30 stocks, 13 rose and 17 fell.

On BSE trading, 1,438 stocks advanced, 1,433 declined and 108 were unchanged. Telecom and auto stocks rose.

Rupee edged lower 15 paisa to Rs 47.30 against one dollar.

India’s annual food inflation rate stayed above 10% for a 14th month in a row. An index measuring wholesale prices of agricultural products complied by the commerce ministry rose 12.47% in the week ended July 10 from a year earlier. The inflation index in the previous week was 12.81%.

With British Petroleum Plc looking to sell some assets to fund the Gulf of Mexico spill liability, India is looking to buy its stake in the $1.3 billion Nam Con Son gas project in Vietnam.

Oil Minister Murli Deora flew into the Vietnamese Capital Wednesday morning with heads of Indian oil firms to lay a claim with Hanoi on BP''s stake in two offshore gas fields, a pipeline and power project, together referred as Nam Con Son, Vietnam''s largest gas project.

""This is a great opportunity for us. The gas fields were originally allocated to us but due to foreign exchange crisis of 1990s, we had to farm-out some stake to BP. We will like to get back that stake,"" Deora said ahead of his meetings with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and government-run PetroVietnam.

BP is considering selling fields in Colombia, Venezuela and Vietnam in order to meet the $20-billion clean-up bill of the worst US spill. It had in June announced a $10-billion asset sale program to pay the costs of compensating victims of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill caused by the blowout of the Macondo well in April.

Century Plyboards (India) is looking to split up in three main sectors. The company board discussed a proposal at its meeting on July 21 relating to the de-merger of the different business segments of the company into separate legal entities.

According to the proposal the parent company will retain the plywood laminate and logistics segment and will form two legal entities to look after the ferro alloy, power investments and its cement investments.

The company’s Managing Director Sajjan Bhajanka has been asked to examine the de-merger proposal from all legal and regulatory aspects and place the draft scheme at the next board meeting.

The electrical projects division of BGR Energy Systems secured a contract from Nuclear Power Corporation of India to build cabling systems and other electrical works for power island area in Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam, the 500 megawatt prototype fast breeder reactor project at Kalpakkam, near Chennai, says a company release.

Malaysia''s Integrated Healthcare Holdings today said 70% eligible shareholders of Singapore-based hospital group Parkway voted in favor of its takeover offer, dealing a blow to the acquisition bid of Fortis Healthcare.

In a notice to the Singapore Stock Exchange, Integrated Healthcare Holdings said its partial offer received 604,926,786 valid votes, representing 70% of eligible shareholders. However, only 5% of the shareholders have tendered their acceptances so far.

Integrated Healthcare Holdings Ltd, which is an arm of Malaysia''s sovereign fund Khazanah, launched an $835 million partial offer for 51.5% Parkway stake at S$ 3.78 per share. Fortis had launched a $2.3 billion counter offer at s$3.8 per share to fully acquire Parkway.

Power Grid Corp of India Ltd secured the cabinet’s nod to sell a 20% stake worth Rs 8,700 crore which maybe a record sell-off of state assets in India.

The Gurgaon-based company and the Government of India will sell a combined 841.8 million shares, according to a statement released today. The cabinet approved the stake-sale plan today, said Neelam Kapoor, Chief of the government’s Press Information Bureau in New Delhi.

JSW Steel Ltd has said in a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange today that it will consider on July 27 a proposal to raise long-term funds, including share sale to a strategic investor.

Akruti City Ltd, a real estate company, said it will reconsider a plan to set up a unit to bid for infrastructure projects as the government doubles its spending on construction of utilities, ports and roads across the nation.

The new entity will be ready in a year, said Chairman Hemant Shah in an interview. The company had closed Infrastructure Investment Ltd, a decade earlier, after that company failed to win projects.

Gainers & Losers

Abhishek Industries Limited dropped 6.2% to Rs 17.20 after the agro-based paper and yarn company reported first quarter net profit fell 70.8% to Rs 10.59 crore.

Apar Industries Limited fell 2.2% to Rs 227.90 after the stock turned ex-dividend today, July 22 for a dividend of Rs 5 per share for the year ended March 2010.

Bajaj Auto Ltd rose 2.4% to Rs 2,474.30 after the company on Thursday beat market estimates with a two-fold jump in quarterly net profit, as it sold more motorcycles and gained from higher non-operating income.

Dabur India Limited rose 1.4% to Rs 209.00 after the global ayurvedic and natural health care company is moving ahead with its first overseas acquisition ever, of a Turkish based personal care company Hobi Kozmetik for around Rs 300 crore.

Deepak Fertilisers and Petrochemicals Corporation Limited gained 6.2% to Rs 152.00 after the company reported first quarter net profit rose 34.1% to Rs 52.00 crore compared to net profit of Rs 39.00 crore a year ago.

Energy Development Company Limited climbed 5.5% to Rs 48.55 after the company announced that it has been awarded a contract valued nearly Rs 22.84 crore by the Government of Tripura.

Ingersoll-Rand (India) Limited gained 6.1% to Rs 397.00 after the worldwide solutions provider reported first quarter net profit rose 145.5% to Rs 16.13 crore.

Indoco Remedies Limited declined 5.6% to Rs 453.90 after the pharmaceutical company reported first quarter net profit declined 12.2% to Rs 14.82 crore.

Jammu & Kashmir Bank Limited dropped 2.5% to Rs 806.00 after the stock turned ex-dividend for a dividend of Rs 22 per share for the year ended March 2010.

JBF Industries Limited gained 5.7% to Rs 143.90 after the business of synthetic yarn said Reliance Capital Trustee Company bought 25.49 lakh shares at Rs 133 each in a block deal.

Mastek Limited declined 7.3% to Rs 273.65 after the company engaged in software development, technical and consultancy services reported fourth quarter net loss of Rs 1.30 crore.

Mangalore Chemicals & Fertilizers Limited rose 3.2% to Rs 34.70 after the company reported first quarter net profit surged 67.2% to Rs 12.54 crore.

Pidilite Industries Limited added 5.7% to Rs 135.60 after the branded consumer product company reported first quarter net profit rose 25.8% to Rs 108.73 crore compared to net profit of Rs 84.81 crore a year ago.

Power Grid Corporation of India Limited rose 1.5% to Rs 101.40 after the union cabinet approved share sale via follow-on public offer in the state-owned firm.

Dr Reddy''s Laboratories Limited decreased 2.1% to Rs 1,374.00 after the company''s American depository receipt, or ADR declined 3.95% to $29.40 in the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, July 21.

Steel Strips Wheels Limited rose 3.3% to Rs 212.00 after the company secured an overseas order from ETOP, the largest distributor of wheel and tires assemblies in Eastern Europe, for supply of about 7,000 wheels.

United Breweries Limited surged 19.9% to Rs 282.80 after the company reported first quarter net profit surged 114.4% to Rs 76.13 crore compared to net profit of Rs 35.5 crore a year ago.