The company has firstly changed its name from ‘Arvind Mills Ltd’ to ‘Arvind Ltd’ with a new logo and identity to reflect a company which is diversified with focus on branded apparel and retail.

The promoters will increase their stake from 34% to 47% and infuse Rs.188 crore capital into the company.

Also, half of the Rs.1400 crore debt which Arvind Ltd has would be repaid by selling off land at Ahmedabad and Bangalore thus positively affecting the company’s profitability.

Arvind is now giving more focus to brands and retail which uptil now contributes 19% of total revenue. It will also move to become an integrated textile player by producing fabric as well as retailing it.

With a combination of its own as well as licensed brands, Arvind aims to become the largest apparel brand in India with focus on Tier II and III cities.

Major empahasis would be on the value store format ‘Megamart’ which is targeted to achieve Rs.1000 crore sales in 3 years. Other than that Arvind plans to setup 250 small format and 30 large format stores by 2012.

The strategy may work out to be rewarding for the company as it has a good portfolio of domestic and international, and has been a established national player. The move also helps it to ward off any risk it faces from the recession in export markets.

Arvind Mills changes name, focus, strategy - Digital Inspiration | FAQ | RSS

Of the 1432 outlets closed, 500 are company owned and rest dealer-owned. Reliance plans to develop around 300 dealer owned properties along with its own ones which are situated at strategic locations.

The properties would be developed through Reliance Industrial Infrastructure with an investment of Rs.5,000 crore and includes buying out of some properties owned by the dealers.

The malls would house all the Reliance Retail brands along with its hypermarket formats Reliance Mart and Reliance Super. The multiplexes may be a JV with Manmohan Shetty and Yash Raj Films.

The idea may work out well for the affected dealers and the company too as it will give them a justifiable exit option for their loss making investment.

However, the success of the project may be doubted, as Indian consumers are still not averse to the idea of going out shopping outside the city limits as there are constraints of transport, cost and safety.

Such type of concepts of highway malls is popular in western countries where people go on weekends to shop. But, in Indian context, it would be a while before the concept catches up and it is to be noted that most of the Reliance pumps were situated on highways. source

Reliance to use petrol pump space as highway malls - Digital Inspiration | FAQ | RSS

It is likely that Manmohan Shetty may quit Adlabs as it is now with ADAG and is also in process of name change. YRF and Shetty will form a company producing movies, games and other shows, and would provide content to Reliance entertainment venture.

The deal is likely to prove a success given all the big names are involved in the venture who have long standing status in their respective fields. Also Yashraj Films would release all its films in its theatres and hedge against its confrontation with other multiplex operators as witnessed recently.

For Mukesh Ambani, it would mean an entry into ADAG’s territory as it aims to become an integrated media player with entry into multiplex, content production and broadcasting business. source

Mukesh Ambani, Yashraj and Adlabs founder may team up for multiplex foray - Digital Inspiration | FAQ | RSS

The channel would be targeted towards mass audience and leverage its existing audience of young adults through their channels MTV, Vh1 and Nick. The tagline of the channel is captured as ‘Jasbaat Ke Rang’ signifying the universal appeal of its programmes.

Colors has unveiled two shows initially called ‘Fear Factor - Khatron Ke Khiladi’, hosted by Akshay Kumar and ‘Mohe Rang De’, a fiction show set on 1942 freedom movement.

Considering successful television ventures of Network18 group like CNBC-TV18, Awaaz, CNN-IBN and IBN7, there are high chances of the channel meeting its target viewership. But competition from established GECs and new players like 9X and NDTV Imagine would make the competition tough but giving wide choices for Indian television viewers.

Viacom18 unveils a new entertainment channel, Colors - Digital Inspiration | FAQ | RSS

Moreover, most of the financial portals does not carry a substantial information and is also not regularly updated. Even the rates given in pink financial dailies is inadequate to carry out an investment decision.

The best website which I found for comparing fixed deposit rates is ratekhoj.com The website can compare FD rates using various criteria like period, institution type, senior/non-senior/NRI and even of individual banks.

The website also carries a tool to compare rates for credit cards, home, vehicle, educational and personal loans.

The best part of the website is that it the interest rates are regularly updated and as such makes decision making easy to get the maximum interest.

Find out the best interest rates on Fixed Deposits - Digital Inspiration | FAQ | RSS

The bid would value MTN at $37 billion, a  stifle more than its market capitalisation of $35.6 billion. However, according to FT, MTN would like the bid to be atleast 10% more than the current one.

Bharti has a market cap of $40 billion and subscribers nearly equal to MTN subscribers and the bid would give them a global expansion and take advantage of diversifying its operations to ward off slowdown in different markets.

But the road for Bharti won’t be easy since it has to first compete with other bidders such as Reliance Communications, Vodafone and China Mobile who might be willing to pay a higher price.

Also, MTN would be reluctant to sell 100% stake to foreign bidders owing to sovereign concerns. The bid may also put a strain on Bharti’s stock due to possible equity dilution and debt leverage to meet out buyout obligations.

However, Bharti has a low debt level which would help it to borrow further easily. Bharti’s shareholder, Singtel if it decides to partner Bharti in the bid, then also it may work for the latter’s advantage.

The deal will help Bharti in becoming a low cost integrated player since it can deal on better terms with its partners and as such bring in furhter low cost in the business for India as well as African countries.

Bharti’s bid for MTN - making of a telecom global giant - Digital Inspiration | FAQ | RSS

In the next 2 weeks, all 54 multiplexes of Adlabs across the country would be named as “Big Cinema” and the change would reflect uniformly across all physical elements like signage, tickets and other paraphernalia used in the multiplexes.

ADAG is also launching 200 theatres in US under the ‘Big cinema’ brand. However, Anil Ambani group is not changing the name of Adlabs Films currently.

A brand change usually involves lot of communication exercise, however with presence in other entertainment verticals, the job may be easier for ADAG since audience can relate the new name with existing BIG brands.

The exercise would also help ADAG in cross selling its product under a single brand and eventually establish itself as a vertically integrated entertainment giant. source

Adlabs go in for a name change to reflect ADAG image - Digital Inspiration | FAQ | RSS

While IFFCO will use its vast rural network for marketing the services, Airtel would be the service provider. Uptil now, 48000 farmers have joined the scheme and is targeted to have 15 crore customers by 2011.

Regarding the mobile handset, it is a Blackberry lookalike priced ar Rs.4000 and provide value added services such as free daily voice updates on mandi prices, farming techniques, weather forecasts and fertiliser availability in local languages. The small-screen version may cost around Rs 2,000.

In future IFFCO may launch its own mobile phone which can charge without power through a wind-up charger which can prove to be ablockbuster once it is launched.

With rural market growing, the move by Bharti will help it in increasing its subscriber base and gather more revenues from prospective rural mobile users.

Bharti Airtel will also provide call rates @50p per minute for calls between IFFCO members to provide community building and improve interaction.

The JV would work wonders for rural who have been deprived of timely and reliable information about their needs and products. It would help them in improving their productivity and contribute to overall development of country.

The move by Airtel could also be seen in light of abolition of ADC charge wherein mobile operators paid a usage charge to BSNL for fulfilling Universal Service Obligation. Now it is turn of private companies to expolit the full potential of the under served markets.

Low cost Blackberry lookalike from Airtel for rural customers - Digital Inspiration | FAQ | RSS

The redemption would mean payments of close to Rs.8,000 crore to over 12 lakh investors by Specified Undertaker of Unit Trust of India (SUUTI). SUUTI was formed as a result of the split of erstwhile UTI into UTI AMC (which got all the NAV based schemes) and SUUTI (which got large equity holdings, properties and 25 assured return schemes).

Since all schemes under SUUTI are matured or close to being mature, the Government has no option but to wind it up and as such it had to liquidate its assets to meet payment obligations.

SUUTI has 27% stake in Axis Bank (worth Rs.8000 crore), 12% in ITC (worth Rs.9350 crore) and 10.5% in L&T (worth Rs.7000 crore at current market price). According to ET, the Govt. is likely to first offload its stake in Axis Bank through private placement to institutions.

SUUTI has also stakes in NSDL, NSE and SHCIL, though it is unlikely to sell these holdings but may consider transferring the stake to other Government institutions. Although SUUTI does not need to sell the holdings at once as it can meet the redemption requirements out of its investments in government securities, debentures, oil bonds and fixed deposits.

SUUTI has also hold of prime land and have sold property worth Rs.600 crore. The sale proceeds is most likely to be used by Government for funding of social sector programmes.

In case of Axis Bank, selling the entire stake to a single investor could yield maximum value as it would factor in a control premium, however this scenario is unlikely due to strict banking regulations.

Once the stake sale begins, there may be certainly some interest in these stocks as there may be apprehensions about the role of the new investor and whether his investment is just financial or strategic in nature.

Redemption pressure of US-64 leads to dilution of key stock holdings - Digital Inspiration | FAQ | RSS

Globally, Alibaba has 27 million users across 200 countries, out of which 0.4 million users are situated in India which are mainly trading in textiles, jewellery, auto parts and chemicals. For Alibaba, India is among the top three markets along with US and South-East Asia and represents represents 8% of its total business.

Alibaba connects buyers and sellers globally and earn revenues through online advertising and paid subscriptions from sellers. With this partnership, Alibaba expects to double its Indian membership through a combinations of offline and online models.

Infomedia would provide direct customer support to Alibaba’s Indian users and create awareness about Alibaba’s products to its listed 750,000 businesses through is 650 salespeople.

The venture may prove to be successful as Alibaba has a global credential and a fare reputation for transactions. It also guarantee supplier’s credibility through its verification systems called GoldSupplier pass (available only in Chinese provinces) and TrustPass (for suppliers outside China).

The venture may even gain further strength, if indeed Microsoft takes over Yahoo! as latter holds a 39% stake in Alibaba.com. In such as scenario, Microsoft would be able to use its global clout to establish its business presence.

Alibaba ventures into Indian market, in partnership with Network 18 - Digital Inspiration | FAQ | RSS

The record date fixed for demerger was March 25, 2008 as a consequence of which shareholders of the Bajaj Auto will receive shares of the three demerged new companies in the ratio of one share each for every one share held in Bajaj Auto.

The 3 new companies formed as a consequence of the merger are along with their business activities and individual acquisition costs are as under:

1. Bajaj Auto Ltd (BAL) - auto business (22.1%)
2. Bajaj Finserv Ltd (BFSL) - wind energy generation, insurance, consumer finance (21.4%)
3. Bajaj Holdings & Investment Ltd (BHIL) - investments and new business opportunities (56.5%)

Also the name of listed Bajaj Auto Ltd has been changed to Bajaj Holdings & Investment Ltd.

The shares of the newly formed companies is expected to list around end of April and there would be no tax implication for shareholders on receiving the new shares.

The only tax liability that would arise for shareholders is when these shares are sold and that would depend on the time period of holding of the original Baja Auto shares.

After calculating the acquisition cost of individual shares according to the percentage mentioned above, the capital gains tax would be calculated. If period of holding is more than 1 year, then all gains would be tax free. If shares are sold within one year of purchase of Baja Auto shares, then shareholder would have to pay 15% short term capital gains tax.

Historically, demerger has led to creation of wealth for shareholders as has been recently seen in two successful cases of demeger of Reliance Industries and Indiabulls.

Though it remains to be seen how the Bajaj management approaches with the new companies as in this the demerger has not gone well with market as can be seen from the share price trends of Bajaj Holdings Ltd. Link

What happens next after Bajaj Auto demerger? - Digital Inspiration | FAQ | RSS

However Virgin Mobile does not have neither the network nor the spectrum to start its mobile operations. It is just an agreement with Tata Teleservices wherein Virgin Group has a brand franchise arrangement targeted primarily at the youth segment.

Neither is the arrangement under MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) format. Under this format, companies buy airtime in bulk from service providers for resale to consumers. Virgin Mobile is just using Tata’s distribution network and complement its existing brand Tata Indicom.

According to a Morgan Stanley report, the offerings of Virgin Mobile are cheaper by 25-30% than similar schemes of competitors. Also, it has launched innovative schemese such as paying customers 10 paise for every minute of incoming calls they receive, contrary to olden days when you had to pay for an incoming call.

Even the TV advertisiements of Virgin Mobile have struch a cord with viewers owing to its smart placements and humour.

The Virgin Mobile service is currently available in select cities only and has been strategically focussed on high street stores and malls where there is more orientation towards youth.

In future, the offering may widen to cover more cities but the scale of operations and offers may be limited such as to have a niche customer base and also not to overlap with existing setup of Tata Indicom services.

What does entry of Virgin Mobile means to Indian consumers? - Digital Inspiration | FAQ | RSS

The revision has been made after a long gap and according to the bank is due to rise in infrastructure costs. However, this may also be a part of the company’s change in strategic focus as it would have fulfilled its targeted customer base and would have wanted to switch to accounts with higher deposits.

As the cost of maintaining a low and high balance amount works out to be the same for the bank, the bank would have thought it’s better to serve high value accounts rather than regular accounts.

Although, zero balance and special accounts like salary, senior citizens and no-frills accounts would continue to enjoy the same privilege as earlier.

With this rise, ICICI Bank joins Kotak Mahindra Bank to become the most expensive bank to maintain a Saving Bank A/c. Other private sector banks continue like HDFC, Axis continues to have Rs.5000 as minimum average quarterly balance.

On the other hand, PSU banks still have Rs.500 / Rs.1000 as balance requirements while most foreign banks require Rs.10000 as minimum QAB.

The current penalty for non-maintenance of QAB for ICICI Bank customer is Rs.750 + 12.36% service tax. And with rise in QAB, the penalty amount is also expected to rise proportionally, considering ICICI penchant for levying charges on non-fulfillment of bank requirements.

ICICI Bank raises balance requirement to maintain a Savings A/c - Digital Inspiration | FAQ | RSS

The above plan is another testimony to growing mobile market in India with 8 million mobile subscribers being added each month and total subscribers to soon overtake that of US subscribers becoming the second  largest mobile market in the world.

However, the fixed line phone numbers would continue to remain as is it is. While all GSM and CDMA subscribers whether old or new, would now have 11 digit numbers.

All the new telephone operators like Unitech, Shyam Telelink, Videocon among others would be alloted series of number starting with 90 and 91.

Apart from India, China and UK follow 11-digit numbers, while USA has a more integrated pattern of common numbering plan with similar numbers for mobile as well as landline numbers, much like Tata ‘Walky’ and Reliance ‘Hello’. via

Your mobile number is going to change - Digital Inspiration | FAQ | RSS

Steve Jobs hinted last month that iPhone launch in India would happen sometime in 2008 and that Apple may not restrict the iPhone distribution deal to just one operator like they do in the US where AT&T is the exclusive distributor.

According to BS, Apple could make iPhone accessible though other telecom carriers in India like Reliance or Airtel. Earlier reports suggested that iPhone in India could debut at Reliance Retail - that obviously didn’t happen but the Vodafone - Apple deal suddenly makes lot of sense.

Vodafone Bringing Apple iPhone to India in September 2008 - Digital Inspiration | FAQ | RSS